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WASHINGTON 

THE CITY AND THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT 



WASHINGTON 

THE CITY 

AND THE 

SEAT OF GOVERNMENT 

BY 
C. H. FORBES-LINDSAY 

AUTHOR OF 

'America's Insular Possessions," "India, Past and Present/' etc. 



ILLUSTRATED 



PHILADELPHIA 

THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO. 
1908 



C L^ 



LIPKf'JV -tf CONGRESS 

StP .24 1908 

COP^ A. 



('^•I•^ i:ii;nT. 1!H»S, hy 
Tin: .1.111 N ('. Winston C 



2)eDicatc& 

TO THE 
HONORABLE HENRY B. F. MACFARLAND 

PRESIDENT 

OP THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 



** May this territory be the residence of virtue and happi- 
ness ! In this city may that pifty and virtue, that wisdom and 
mag^nanimity, that constancy and scif-jxovtTnment, which adorn 
thc^rcat charai'ter whose name it bears, be forever held in ven- 
eration." AUAMS. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The National Capital i 

II. The Ten Miles Square 11 

III. Planning the City 41 

IV. Breaking Ground 73 

V. The Government Takes Possession . . .107 

VI. The Government of the District .... 132 

VII. A Sluggish Growth 154 

VIII. Washington in War Times 175 

IX. Washington in the Twentieth Century . . 224 

X. Journalism in Washington 248 

XI. Social Life in the Capital 271 

XII. The Suburbs of Washington 294 

XIII. The Presidents and the White House . . 319 

XIV. The Capitol and the Library of Congress . 343 
XV. Congress and the Supreme Court .... 363 

XVI. The Executive Government 383 

XVII. The Executive Government 401 

Appendix 423 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE 

The Capitol Frontispiece 

Old Pierce Mill 16 

Washington's Tomb, Mount Vernon 32 

BuRNEs' Cottage 48 

View North from Washington Monument .... 64* 

Great Falls of the Potomac 80 

Bridge in Rock Creek Park 96 

Washington Monument 112 

The Capitol from Washington Monument .... 128 

St. John's Church 144 

Soldiers' Home 176 

Thomas Circle 208 

Smithsonian Institution 240 

Corcoran Art Gallery 244 

Statue of Rochambeau 272 

Arlington 304 

Vista from Arlington 310 

Bladensburg 312 

White House, from North 320 

White House, from South 336 

Library of Congress 352 

In the Congressional Library 360 

New Senate Offices, Union Station in Background, 368 

State, War and Navy Building 384 

Treasury Department 392 



WASHINGTON 



CHAPTEK I. 

THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. 

To the chief city of every nation is attached 
some romantic legend connecting it with the times 
preceding its foundation. Washington, though of 
comparatively modern establishment, is no excep- 
tion, unless it be in that the traditions relating 
to the territory now known as the District of 
Columbia, have an unusual basis of truth. 

Long before the proprietary regime of the Cal- 
verts, the region was the site of a capital. Here 
was the center of the powerful Algonquin tribe. 
The division of it known as the Powhatans occu- 
pied what is now the District at the time that John 
Smith explored this section of the country and 
had his memorable adventure with the daughter of 
their chief. The capital of the Algonquins con- 
sisted of a group of villages situated in the angle 
formed by the Eastern Branch and the Potomac. 
The principal camp and the wig^vams of the chiefs 



2 WASHINGTON. 

were at Greenleaf's Point. The council house 
stood in the very shadow of the hill that is now 
crowned by the Capitol. 

For a long period after the colonization of Mary- 
land — until its occupation by the Government, 
in fact — the land covered by the city of Wash- 
ington was almost virgin wilderness and contained 
but a handful of settlers. The site of the city was 
overspread, in the main, by dense woods, relieved 
here and there by patches of corn or tobacco. When 
the Government moved to Washington, there were 
but two houses between the Executive mansion 
and the Capitol. The scanty population was clus- 
tered for the most part in two settlements, Ham- 
burg, on Observatory Hill, being one, and. Carrolls- 
burg, on James Creek, the other. 

Even after the location of the Government at 
Washington, the growth and improvement of the 
city were so slow as to excite the ridicule and 
contempt of visitors. Xor were these feelings 
confined to foreigners. The site of the capital 
had been decided upon in the face of the 
strongest opposition on the part of the northern 
States and a considerable element among the first 
two generations of Americans entertained pro- 
nounced sentiments of unfriendliness towards the 
national center. To this attitude, wliicli was fre- 
quently accentuated by active efY(^rt^^ to remove 
the seat of government, must be largely attributed 



THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. 3 

the early stagnation and neglect in which the city 
lay. 

Washington for so long a period played the part 
of " Ugly Duckling " among our urban centers, 
was for so many years allowed by its legal spon- 
sors to remain in a state of rustic backwardness, 
that early Americans acquired a habit of think- 
ing of their capital with indifference and speaking 
of it slightingly. Not until sixty-five years after 
it became the seat of the government was it un- 
questionably accepted as the permanent center of 
the country, and still another decade passed before 
Congress assumed its equitable share of the burden 
of maintenance and improvement, and so made it 
possible for the city to grow to its present con- 
dition of beauty and magnificence. The factors 
that militated against the growth of the city, the 
actual and constructive relations that existed 
between the municipality and the Government, and 
the splendid struggle made by the inhabitants to 
lift the capital out of the slough of stagnation in 
which it lay for more than half a century, are 
not generally known. They are matters that have 
been omitted, as a rule, from books dealing with 
the city of Washington, but the writer of the 
present volume believes that he has served a useful 
purpose in setting them forth at some length. 

The progress of Washington is necessarily, to 
a considerable extent, a reflection of the progress 



4 WASHINGTON. 

of the nation. It is, therefore, doubly interesting 
and instructive to view the development of the 
capital from the days of small beginnings when 
Congress was too poor to pay a chaplain and the 
Vice-president and President-elect of the United 
States lived in a boarding house on Capitol Hill ; 
when a carter, in his smock, might attend a White 
House reception without let or hindrance and a for- 
eign ambassador be received by the highest officer 
of the land in dressing-gown and slippers. 

Following the story of the city through the cen- 
tury of its existence, Ave find it passing through 
several distinct phases of social and political con- 
dition. Previous to the Civil War, officialdom 
comprises polite society but its standard of man- 
ners and morals is far from the highest. States- 
men of the greatest repute openly frequent the 
gambling rooms and drinking saloons along Penn- 
sylvania Avenue and consort with the Beau Hick- 
mans and similar adventurers of their times. In 
the legislative chambers, quarrels, in which weapons 
are drawn, frecpiently interrupt the proceedings 
and the duel is a recognized institution. 

The War dvow t<> Washington a numerous riff- 
raff and its close saw the ])o]ndation augmented by 
a number of wealthy individuals who exerted a 
marke(l intlnence upon the social life of the capi- 
tal. At this period, too, it became the Mecca of 
the office-seeker and the lobbvist. 



THE NATIONAL CAPITAL, 5 

A wonderful change has been wrought in the 
past thirty years. Washington has developed into 
one of the most beautiful and attractive cities of 
the world. Its population has doubled, the prop- 
erty of its residents has increased at least three- 
fold in value, its public utilities have been placed 
upon the basis of the most modern methods, and its 
business interests have expanded greatly. The 
visible transformation is so striking as to excite the 
wonder even of the inhabitants, who have the dis- 
advantage of a view contracted by a foreshortened 
perspective. But, when they contrast their earliest 
impressions with the tangible picture of the pres- 
ent, the evolution of recent years astounds them. 
" Chronic Eow " and '' Old Mother Damnable's " 
are within the recollection of men not yet old, 
whilst " Foggy Bottom '' is but a thing of yester- 
day. Nor need one be a patriarch to recall the un- 
sightly presence of negro shanties on Massachusetts 
Avenue and other localities now lined with palatial 
houses, and the lumbering herdic, that still pre- 
serves a precarious but picturesque existence, is a 
reminder of the not-distant day when the city, 
which now has the finest street car service in the 
country, was dependent on horse-drawn vehicles of 
a sorry type. 

Coincident with the material development of 
Washington and commensurate with it, has been 
the intellectual and social growth of the city. Dur- 



6 WASHINGTON. 

ing the period of expaii.sioii under consideration, 
the number of i)upils in the public schools has 
doubled and the number of teachers, quadrupled. 
Numerous institutions of higher learning have 
come into being or sprung into unwonted vigor. 
The cherished hope of George Washington that the 
capital would be the home of a great national seat 
of learning is realized in the university named 
after him. 

The extraordinary facilities for education and 
research offered by the capital have become widely 
recognized, with the result that Washington is con- 
stantly attracting students and writers in such 
numbers as to justify the statement that it is 
already the literary center of the nation and may 
soon claim a like position in the matter of educa- 
tion. For similar reasons, the capital has become 
the center of scientific study and investigation and 
is drawing to itself an ever-increasing number of 
the devotees of art. 

During the Civil War the people of Washing- 
ton depended upon outside papers, — mainly those 
of Baltimore, — for the news. Now the daily jour- 
nals of the city are the equal of any in the country 
and every paper of consequence in America has 
a correspondent at Washington. 

Equally marked is the advancement of the city 
as a social center. Time was when GeorgetowTi's 
old families opened their doors to only a select 



THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. 7 

and favored few of the residents of Washington 
and for many years after its foundation, polite 
society at the capital was composed mainly of a 
handful of high officials, prominent officers of the 
military forces and representatives of foreign 
oyvers, with a sprinkling of members of Congress. 
To-day, Washington can boast the most intellectual 
society in the country and has become the regular 
winter residence of many persons of wealth, who 
have no commercial nor political interest in the 
place. Officials and members of Congress bring 
their families to the seat of Government, make 
homes there and, in many cases, remain after re- 
tirement from public life. The palatial homes of 
Washington and its commodious hotels are con- 
stantly entertaining distinguished visitors from 
various parts of our land and from foreign coun- 
tries, whilst the city is rapidly growdng in favor 
with the casual tourist, and as a place for conven- 
tions. 

Within the past decade there has been a marked 
increase in the popular interest displayed in AVash- 
ington and a tendency to look upon it, with pro- 
priety, as the people's city, occupying a territory 
peculiarly the property of the whole nation, and 
representing the focal point of all the most im- 
portant national interests. W^ith the change of 
public attitude has arisen a desire to know more 
about the capital and its history, as well as willing- 



8 WASHINGTON. 

ness to correct the misconceptions that have for so 
long been entertained with regard to it. With a 
double object in view, the author of this volume 
has given an unusual amount of space to the early 
growth and government of the city, subjects gen- 
erally slighted in previous books devoted to Wash- 
ington. It is designed, thereby, to clear up the 
most flagrant of the fallacies to which reference 
has been made, and also to afl'ord a basis of com- 
parison that will tend to a better appreciation of 
the w^onderful advancement of the capital since the 
Civil War. 

The physical aspects of the city and suburbs 
at different periods are descril>ed and the coinci- 
dent improvement of its material, social, and intel- 
lectual interests. Incidental features, such as 
'^ Journalism in Washington," have not been neg- 
lected and space has been found for the intersper- 
sion of historical events and interesting characters 
associated with the city. 

The growth of our Government since its incep- 
tion has been marvelous. A fuH 'appreciation of 
what it has been can be gained only by a survey 
extending from the times when a Secretary of 
State might almost carry his papers in his hat. 
Such was the case when the Government fled to 
Germantow^n to escape the epidemic of smallpox in 
Philadelphia, and Jefferson boarded with the 
Diitclnuan, Bockius. The heads of departments 



THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. 9 

seem to have conducted their business at their lodg- 
ing places without difficulty or serious inconven- 
ience, and cabinet meetings were held at one or 
another boarding house. 

In 1800, the men in the employment of the Fed- 
eral Government numbered one hundred and thirty- 
six. To-day, the civil service rolls carry more than 
twenty-five thousand names, not to mention the 
much greater number employed outside of Wash- 
ington. At the former period the disbursements 
for all purposes were but $137,000. N^ow the 
budget for administrative needs exceeds $20,000,- 
000. Many a comparatively unimportant bureau 
of the present day has a larger staff than all the 
Departments together had a hundred years ago. 
When the Government moved to Washington, most 
of the Departments managed well enough with the 
accommodations afforded by ordinary private 
houses and, 'in one case at least, the premises sup- 
plied lodgings for a family besides the space occu- 
pied by the office. This wonderful expansion of 
the Government during the century of its location 
at Washington is traced in a few chapters, which 
include brief histories of various Departments. 

The general design of the author has been to 
bring the past and present into view — to show 
the city and the Government as they were and as 
they are. This comparative method of treatment 
will not only afford a realization of the achieve- 



10 WASHINGTON. 

ment attained, but will also furnish a basis for an 
introspective view of the possibilities of the future. 
In this w^e shall hardly fail to conceive of our 
capital as a city of several millions of inhabitants, 
occupying a position of preeminence in every re- 
spect save that of commerce and in that yielding 
superior rank to only a few cities of the country. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE TEN" MII>ES SQUARE. 

In the development of urban centers, there is 
something not unlike the growth of human beings. 
The precocious child disappoints our expectations 
no less commonly than does the " boom " town 
and, just as the dull and weedy boy often becomes 
a bright and handsome specimen of his kind, so 
the unpromising village frequently blossoms into 
a beautiful and bustling city. Thus we may ex- 
cuse the pessimistic opinions of the future metrop- 
olis expressed by early visitors to the settlement 
on the banks of the Potomac, surrounded by '' end- 
less and almost impenetrable woods," with '' no 
objects to catch the eye but a forlorn pilgrim 
forcing his way through the grass that overruns 
the streets, or a cow ruminating on a bank." In- 
deed, the wonder is that a few, in the natal period, 
had the faith and foresight to predict for the for- 
lorn infant a healthy adolescence and a vigorous 
maturity. 

It was during the chaotic days immediately fol- 
lowing the Revolution, when few men's minds 

11 



12 WASHINGTON. 

were calm or their lieads clear, that the idea of a 
national ca])ital took form. Under the circum- 
stances, it had been strange if that proposition, 
or any other of general concern had failed to arouse 
conflicting views and counter suggestions. Sus- 
picion and jealousy were rife, not only among the 
leading men of the embryo nation, but also auiong 
the several States which formed the confederation. 
Coupled with these disturbing factors, were the 
fear of the commonwealths of one another and 
their general distrust of the people. liiot and 
insurrection were among the elements that rendered 
the five years following the peace of 1783 the 
most critical period in the history of the American 
Republic. Hardly less sinister -were the dis- 
sensions between various sections of the country — 
the greater and the lesser States — and the numer- 
ous boundary disputes. The rancor excited by 
these differences naturally extended to the rep- 
resentatives of the people and made it extremely 
difficult to reach a decision on the question of 
the site of a national ca]iital and retarded for 
many years the work of ('stal)lisliiii('nt. The gen- 
eral government was feeble in the extreme and 
Congress was frequently placed in the position 
of a suppliant to States that assumed a degree of 
independent sovereignty inconsistent with the the- 
ory and practice of union. Hardly in any res])ect, 
except for the making of treaties with the Indians 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 13 

and the organization of the western territory, did 
Congress exercise the prerogatives of government. 

So little cohesion or agreement of thought 
marked the relations of the States in the formative 
period of the Union that the idea of a convention 
to form a national constitution, advanced by Alex- 
ander Hamilton as early as 1780 and supported 
by Thomas Paine and other leaders, was not put 
into effect until some years later, and then timor- 
ously and with evasive announcement of purpose. 
The convention which met in Philadelphia, May, 
1787, after four months of contentious delibera- 
tion framed a Constitution, which was not finally 
accepted by all the States until more than two 
years later. 

^ot in a single matter, since the date of their 
independence, had the states been united in thought 
and action, when they were called upon to com- 
bine in the establishment and upbuilding of a 
national capital. The immediate outcome was 
what might have been expected under such cir- 
cumstances. 

The leaders of the convention that framed the 
Constitution — or at least the leaders of the I^sl- 
tional party in that convention — conceived the 
establishment of a seat of government under the 
control of Congress as essential to the freedom 
of that body from undue local influence and to the 
permanency of the national life. On the motion 



14 WASHINGTON. 

of James Madison, there was added to the enu- 
merated powers of Congress in the Constitution a 
general provision in the following words : 

To exercise exclusive jurisdiction in all cases 
whatsoever over such district (not exceeding ten 
miles square) as may by cession of particular States 
and acceptance of Congress become the seat of the 
Government of the United States. (Section 8, 
Article 1.) 

The Continental Congress (1774 to 1778) and 
the Congress of the Confederation (1778 to 1789) 
had been movable bodies, whose sessions were held 
in four different States and in eight different locali- 
ties. The first Congress under the Constitution 
took into consideration the question of a permanent 
location and the matter became at once the subject 
of bitter and protracted wrangling. North and 
South were, in general, competitors for the site and 
in each of those divisions individual States con- 
tended for the honor and advantage of containing 
the national capital. The strongest claims were 
advanced for Philadelphia, Germantown, Havre de 
Grace, Wright's Ferry, an indefinite place on the 
Potomac and another on the Susquehanna, In 
September, 1789, the House, by a vote of ol to 19, 
decided in favor of the last named location. This 
action aroused the intense indignation of the South- 
ern members and Madison doubtless expressed the 
feelings of a majority of them when he affirmed that 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 16 

had a prophet arisen in the Virginia Convention 
to foretell the proceeding, that State would have 
refused to ratify the Constitution. Nor were the 
^^Torthern representatives less intemperate in voic- 
ing their sentiments. A Connecticut member 
declared, after the later selection of the Potomac 
site, " he feared that the whole of ]^ew England 
would consider the Union destroyed." 

When the House resolution favoring the Sus- 
quehanna site reached the Senate, that body sub- 
stituted Germantown for the locality named in it. 
The amendment was immediately accepted and the 
Capitol would probably now stand in the historic 
suburb of Philadelphia but for the fact that a 
further amendment — in no way affecting the loca- 
tiou, however, — carried the bill back to the Cham- 
ber, where final action upon it was precluded by 
the close of the session. 

During the ensuing recess of Congress, the 
Southern members, encouraged by Washington and 
led by Jefferson and Madison, continued to canvass 
their claim to the capital. In the following year 
(1790) they achieved their purpose by means of 
a political bargain which furnished the first re- 
corded instance of " log-rolling " in the annals of 
Congress. At this time the country was keenly 
interested in the vital proposition, fathered by 
Hamilton, for the national assumption of the in- 
dividual debts of the States. The less encumbered 



16 WASHINGTON. 

States were opposed to the measure, and Virginia, 
wljicli had funded its debt at six per eent, and had 
provided for the payment of the interest, was the 
strongest opponent of the bill which Hamilton 
hoped to pass at the next session of Congress. 
Such was the condition of the two most important 
questions agitating the political leaders of the in- 
fant republic when Jefferson gave his famous din- 
ner '' with punch and Madeira." He tells the story 
thus in his Anas: 

'' As 1 was going to the President's one day, I 
met him (Hamilton) in the street. He walked 
me backward and forward before the President's 
door for half an hour. He painted pathetically 
the temper into which the Legislature had been 
wrought, and the disgust of those who were called 
the creditor States, the danger of the secession of 
their members, and the separation of the States. 
He observed that the nuMubers of the Administra- 
tion ought to work in concert ; that though the ques- 
ticm Avas not in my r)e])artment, yet a common duty 
should make it a common concern ; that the Pres- 
ident was the center on which all administrative 
questions ultimately rested, and that all of us 
should rally round him ; and that, the question hav- 
ing l)een lost (in the preceding Congress) by a 
small majority only, it was probable that an appeal 
from me to the judgment and discretion of some 
of mv friends might effect a change in the vote, 



TflE TEN MILES SQUAKE. 17 

and the machine of the Government, now sus- 
pended, might be set in motion again. I told him 
that I was really a stranger to the whole subject; 
not having yet informed myself of the system of 
finance adopted, I knew not how far this was a 
necessary sequence; that undoubtedly, if its re- 
jection endangered a dissolution of our Union 
at this incipient stage, I should deem that the 
most unfortunate of all consequences, to avert which 
all -partial and temporary evils should be yielded. 
I proposed to him, however, to dine with me the 
next day, and 1 would invite another friend or 
two; bring them into conference together, and I 
thought it impossible that reasonable men, consult- 
ing together coolly, could fail, by some mutual 
sacrifices of opinion, to form a compromise w^hich 
was to save the Union. 

'^ The discussion took place. I could take no 
part in it but an exhortatory one, because I was a 
stranger to the circumstances which should govern 
it. But it was finally agreed that, whatever im- 
portance had been attached to the rejection of this 
proposition, the preservation of the Union and of 
concord among the States was more important 
and that therefore it would be better that the vote of 
rejection should be rescinded, to effect which some 
members should change their votes. But it was 
observed that this bill would be peculiarly bitter 

to the Southern States, and that some concomitant 
2 



18 WASHINGTON. 

measure should be adopted to sweeten it a little 
to them. There had been propositions to fix the 
seat of government either at Philadelphia, at Ger- 
mantown, or on the Potomac, and it was thought 
that by giving it to Philadelphia for ten years, and 
to Georgetown permanentl/ afterwards, this might, 
as an anodyne, calm in some degree the ferment 
which might be excited by the other measure also. 
So two of the Potomac members (White and Lee, 
but White with a revulsion of stomach almost con- 
vulsive) agreed to change their votes and llamikon 
undertook to carry the other point. In doing this, 
the influence he had established over the Eastern 
members, with the agency of Robert Morris with 
those of the ^liddle States, effected his side of the 
engagement, and so the assumption was passed, 
and twenty millions of stock divided among fa- 
vored States and thrown in as a pabulum to the 
stock-jobbing herd." 

Thus by a stroke of " practical politics," two 
highly important measures were effected. The As- 
sum])tion Act was passed on a close division and 
the bill to locate the seat of government on the 
banks of the Potomac was carried by an extremely 
small margin. Indeed, it required the votes of 
South Carolina, which had just previously joined 
the T'nion. The Ilonse voted 32 to 2t) mid tlie 
Senate 14 to 12 in its favor. The strong opposi- 
tion continued to antagonize the movement during 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 19 

the decade of preparation and during more than 
half a century after its establishment, efforts were 
made to remove the Government from Washington. 

In July, 1790, Congress passed the act which 
provided ^' That a district of territory not exceed- 
ing ten miles square, to be located as hereafter 
directed on the river Potomac at some place be- 
tween the mouths of the Eastern Branch"^ and 
Conogocheague, be, and the same is hereby accepted 
for the permanent seat of the Government of the 
United States," and further provided that until 
the first Monday in December of the year 1800, 
the various offices of the Government should remain 
in Philadelphia and the sessions of Congress should 
be held in that city. Previous to the passage of 
this act the states of Maryland and Virginia had 
by legislative action offered to Congress the requi- 
site extent of territory wdtli free choice of selec- 
tion. 

Previous to the coming of the white man the 

territory from w^hich the District of Columbia 

was carved had been occupied by a number of allied 

* The Eastern Branch is now almost universally called the 
Anacostia River, the change in appellation being due to 
Jeflferson. In 1792 he requested Major Ellicott to ascertain 
the original name of tlie stream. To this Ellicott replied 
that in old surve^^s it appeared as " Anna Kastia." Com- 
municating with Ellicott two years later on the subject of 
a map of the city, Jefferson suggested : " Supposing you 
were to consult them (the Conmiissioners) on the propriety 
of adding to the Eastern Branch the words Annakastia, this 
would probably revive the ancient Indian name instead of 
the modern one." 



20 WASHINGTON. 

bands of Iiidiaii.s, who found good fishing in the 
Potomac and its tributaries and abundance of game 
in the surrounding forests. A large vilhige was sit- 
uated on the present site of Anacostia, and it is 
from the name of the tribe located there that the 
place received its name. It was known as Xacot- 
chant, or Nacochtank, from which the name of 
Anacostia was evolved. Nacochtank, which was 
the residence of a chief and contained eighty war- 
riors, was the principal settlement within or adjoin- 
ing the District. The Jesuits, who came out later 
with J.ord ] Baltimore, Latinized the name of Ana- 
costan, whence we get Anacostia, the modern name 
of the Eastern Branch at Washington. For much 
of Avhich and a great deal more relating to the 
early Indian inhabitants we have the authority of 
Henry Fleet, who was on the spot in 1631 and was, 
with the possible exception of John Smith, the 
first white man to set foot on the site of the 
City of Washington." 

At the time of its transfer to the nation this 
territory contained tlie flourishing and rival towns 
of Alexandria and Georgetown. Outside of these 
centers it w-as for the most part forest and wood- 
laud with here and there a plantation worked by 

* Brief journal of a voyajje made in the bark Warwick to 
Vir<rinia and otlier parts of tlie continent of America in 
Hi.n. Tn l']n<;lish colonization of America. E. D. XeilF. 
1S71. pp. 221-237. Also History of Maryland. J. T. Scliarf. 
1S7!>. V. 1. [)p. 14-20. Also manuscript account of "The 
Place " by Henry Fleet. Library of Congress. 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. . 21 

slaves. The owners were generally men of good 
birth, education and means — in short, representa- 
tive Southern planters. Some of these, who figaired 
in the early history of the city, will be referred to 
later but it may be of interest to notice briefly 
here a few of the principal manors and their 
masters that occupied the vicinage. 

Almost at the same time that the genial " Spec- 
tator " was born in the Milston rectory of the Rev- 
erend Lancelot Addison, a son appeared in the 
Maryland home of John Addison, a brother of the 
Wiltshire parson. In due course Thomas Addison 
was sent to England to be educated and became a 
class-mate of his cousin Joseph at Oxford. On his 
return to the colony, Thomas Addison married and 
built a fine manor house on the banks of the Poto- 
mac opposite Alexandria, which he called '^ Oxon 
Hill " in memory of his alma mater. In 1713, 
a grant of 8,000 acres lying between Rock Creek 
and the Potomac was made to Colonel Thomas 
Addison and James Stoddert. At about this time 
Nancy Addison appeared upon the scene, her ad- 
vent following closely after the birth of William, 
the son of the Reverend George Murdock, rector 
of the Rock Creek Parish. These two married at 
an early age and inherited from Colonel Addison 
the Rock Creek property. They built upon it a 
spacious mansion which stood until recent years. 
William Murdock occupies a bright place in colonial 



22 WASHINGTON. 

history and was one of the leading men of his 
State.* A daughter of William and Xancy Mnr- 
dock married into the family of President Adams 
and during the first years of the capital the home- 
stead on the hill frequently saw distinguished 
guests under its roof. The family retained Friend- 
ship, as the property was called, for some fifty 
years thereafter. Its site is now occupied by the 
College of History of the American University. 

Major Benjamin Stoddert and General Uriah 
Forest jointly owned a tract of land to the north 
of Georgetown and west of Eock Creek, called Eose- 
dale. These life-long friends had fought side by 
side in the Revolutionary War and at its close found 
themselves penniless. In partnership they estab- 
lished a business in Georgetown from which they 
amply recruited their fortunes. Stoddert built a 
house in Georgetown, at the corner of Prospect and 
Frederick streets, which during his tenure of the 
office of Secretary of the Xavy was a social center. 
Forest, having purchased his partner's interest in 
Rosedale, erected upon the property a modest frame 
domicile, still standing, which he made his resi- 
dence from the year 1704 until his death. The 
place is still occupied by descendants of the old sol- 
dier. In his later years, General Forest engaged in 

* William Murdock was a delegate from Maryland to the 
fiimous " Stamp Act Confrress." held in New York in 1765. 
William :Nrurdock, with Robert Livinjjston and Samuel John- 
son sitmed the noted address then made to tlie King. 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 23 

speculation by which he lost all he possessed. His 
brother-in-law, the brilliant Philip Barton Key, 
who himself lived in great luxury at Woodly, orig- 
inally a portion of the Rosedale estate, bought the 
house and one hundred and thirty acres of sur- 
rounding land for Mrs. Forest at the sale of her 
husband's property. 

During the Revolutionary period the district 
north of Georgetown was almost thickly settled by 
people of easy means who were noted for their 
hospitality and social tendencies. Along the roads 
which ran from Georgetown through this neighbor- 
hood and continued into Montgomery County were 
many old manor houses upon estates obtained by 
patent from the Lord Proprietary of Maryland and 
Avalon. One of the most notable of these was 
Hayes, still standing near Chevy Chase. The 
house was built just before the outbreak -of the 
Revolutionary War by the learned and witty Alex- 
ander Williamson, Rector of Rock Creek Parish. 
With an income of ninety hogsheads of tobacco 
a year, Williamson was one of the richest men 
thereabouts and he indulged freely in the pleasures 
then common among gentlemen. He rode straight 
to hounds, negotiated his three bottles at a sitting, 
freely backed his own and his friends' race-horses, 
and played whist for double-eagle points and five 
on the rubber. Parson Williamson Avas distinctly 
popular with his parishioners. His house, like 



24 WASHINGTON. 

many another of colonial times, is reputed to have 
been built with '' bricks brought from England." 

It is highly improbable that any house in this 
country Avas ever constructed of brick brought from 
England. A rough calculation of the weight of the 
material that would be required for a residence of 
modest size is sufficient refutation of these persist- 
ent myths. Some of the wealthy families of Xew 
Netherlands, such as the Van Eensellaers, indulged 
sentiment to the extent of importing bricks and 
tiles from Holland to form portions of their man- 
sions, and it is possible that a few English did so, 
but the practice could not have been at all general. 
Brickmaking was extensively carried on in the 
American colonies during the seventeenth century 
and before the close of it almost every village had 
its brickyard. At the time that the seat of gov- 
ernment was established at the District of Colum- 
bia, Daniel Carroll of Duddington had a large 
brickyard on his estate and supplied the Greenleaf- 
Morris-N'icholson partnership with the greater part 
of the material used in their extensive building 
operations. 

Bruce in his " Economical Ilistoiw of Virginia " 

declares that " all bricks used in Virginia in the 

seventeenth century were manufactured ther6; that 

bricklayers and brickmakers arrived in 1007;^' 

* I believe that the writer in question is in error as to 
this date. There does not apjioar to be evidence of brick- 
niakers anionj;: the workmen brought over in the expedition 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 25 

that in 1622 bricks formed one of the principal arti- 
cles exported from Virginia to the Bermudas ; that 
the Royal Governor Berkeley's brick house had only 
six rooms; that the Indians were repulsed with 
brickbats ; that it was highly improbable when 
l)ricks were rated at eight shillings a thousand in 
Virginia, planters would have been led to import 
them from England where, between 1650 and 1700, 
they could not be purchased for less than eighteen 
shillings, adding to that transportation across the 
ocean."' 

A near neighbor and boon companion of Parson 
Williamson was ^' Uncle Charlie " Jones of Clean 
Drinking Manor, a name derived from a particu- 
larly clear spring upon the estate. The first owner 
of Clean Drinking was John Coates, who received 
a Crown grant of fourteen hundred acres of land 
in 1680. This he bequeathed to his son John, by 
whom it was in turn left to his daughter Elizabeth, 
who married Charles Jones, gentleman. Charles 
Jones erected the manor-house, in 1750 and it has 
remained in the family ever since. The builder 
of Clean Drinking was a convivial soul who at- 
tracted to his board and hearth the bon vivants, 
the debonair cavaliers and the dashing beauties of 
the surrounding country. And, also, at times Clean 
Drinking harbored guests more august and sober. 

of which John Smith was a member but they were certainly 
included among those that came with the " second supply " 
under Captain Newport. 



26 WASHINGTON. 

Here Washington tarried for a thankful rest upon 
his way home to Alexandria from Fort Duquesne 
in 1755. Here Postmaster Monroe, driven from 
his office by the invading British, took refuge and 
kept his mail bags moving by circuitous route. 
At a later date. Clay, Webster, and Calhoun found 
relaxation from the cares of State within the con- 
genial confines of Clean Drinking. 

At Warburton lived and died George Digges, 
Esquire, whose widow built Green Hill and there 
resided with her two young children and her 
mother, Anne Carroll. Green Hill was a portion 
of the Chilham Castle manor estate, named after 
the ancestral home of the Digges in Kent, where 
the famous Sir Dudley lived in the reign of James 
the First of England. William Dudley Digges, 
son of the aforesaid widow, married Eleanora, 
daughter of Daniel (^n-roll of Duddington and the 
young couple made their lioine at (ireen Hill, where 
the architect, L'Enfant, fnuud a refuge in his last 
days. 

An hour's ride to the south-east brought the oc- 
cupants of (Jreen Hill to Tiiversdnle, one of the 
finest plantations in ^Faryland, lying about a luile 
beyond the then thriving port of T)ladensburg. 
George Calvert was a handsome man of cultivated 
tastes who lived in the lordly fashion (^f the wealthy 
planter of his time. His house was a focal point 
of culture and good breeding and its dignified 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 2Y 

hospitality was enjoyed by the most distinguished 
men and women of the day. After the removal 
of the Government to Washington, the drawing 
rooms of the old mansion-house were frequently 
filled with official dignitaries and leaders of fashion. 
Besides these there were several family seats of 
consequence — Arlington, Analostan, Duddington 
and others which we shall have occasion to notice 
hereafter — but enough has been said to indicate 
that the territory from which the District of Colum- 
bia was carved was far from being the desolate, del- 
itescent wilderness that has sometimes been pictured. 
Many of the residents were related by blood-kinship 
to the best families of England with whom they 
maintained more or less close intercourse. The sons 
of the prosperous planter went to England for their 
education, whilst his daughters were sent to one 
of the excellent seminaries in Baltimore or George- 
town. The members of these old families inter- 
married and kept up a constant exchange of social 
courtesy and festivities. A ten-mile ride for the 
purpose of paying a visit, or attending a dance, was 
no matter of account to the young man or woman 
of those days. The urban centers supplied them 
with all the conveniences and most of the luxuries 
of the period, and it is doubtful if the best country 
life of to-day is productive of anything like as 
much enjoyment as our colonial ancestors contrived 
to get out of theirs. They were keenly alive — 



28 WASHINGTON. 

those early Americans. The men were strong, 
active and chivalrous; the women, fresh, healthy, 
enthusiastic Dianas. The men drank a trifle more 
than was good for them, perhaps, and were a little 
too much addicted to cock-fighting and duelling, 
but they were a virile lot and their daughters made 
magnificent mothers. Many a man who to-day 
leads the life of a galley-slave, chained to a desk, 
owes his ability to sustain the incessant grind to 
the vitality derived from his colonial ancestors. 

The landowners from whom the site was ac- 
quired had, of course, a direct and permanent inter- 
est in the city, and most of the surrounding families 
became connected with it, either as residents, or 
by marriage with citizens, and so you may trace 
the best and oldest families of Washing-ton to the 
colonial planters of the surrounding region. 

In pursuance of the act authorizing him to make 
selection of the '' ten miles square," President 
Washington on January 22, 1791, appointed Daniel 
Carroll and Thomas Johnson of Maryland, and 
David Stuart of Virginia, commissioners for sur- 
veying the district and '^ for performing such other 
offices as by law are directed." Each of these 
gentlemen had been members of a committee cre- 
ated by Congress in 1784 to examine and report 
" on a location at or near the lower falls of the 
Potomac " for the seat of government. Washing- 
ton seems to have predetermined the position of the 



THE TEN MILES SQUAEE. 29 

district, which he was capable of doing with judg- 
ment owing to an intimate acquaintance with the 
section of country which it embraced and, at least, 
fair knowledge of the entire territory available 
to his choice. He had encamped with Braddock's 
army on Observatory Hill, w^hen that general set 
out upon the ill-fated expedition against which the 
newly-commissioned officer had strongly advised 
him. Later he had explored the Potomac from 
mountains to tidewater. It is quite probable that 
in his professional capacity he had surveyed many 
tracts on the Maryland as well as the Virginia side 
of the river and quite as likely that social occasions 
often drew him to different parts of the ceded ter- 
ritory. 

Two days after the issuance of the letters patent 
to the commissioners, he sent them explicit instruc- 
tions for the survey. '' After duly exercising and 
weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the 
several situations within the limits aforesaid,'' he 
directed the commissioners to proceed forthwith to 
run '^ lines of experiment " beginning at a point 
on Hunting Creek, to be determined by a line 
'^ running from the Court House of Alexandria, 
in Virginia, due southwest half a mile, and thence 
a due southeast course until it shall strike Hunt- 
ing Creek." Thence the first of the four lines was 
to run " due northwest ten miles ; thence the second 
into Maryland, due northeast ten miles; thence 



30 WASHINGTON. 

the third, due southeast ten miles ; and thence the 
fourth line due southwest ten miles, to the begin- 
ning on Hunting Creek." 

A glance at the map will show that the initial 
point of this survey is ten or more miles below the 
mouth of the Anacostia, the mark specified by the 
enabling act as the southern limit of the area from 
which the district ^vas to be taken. Furthermore, 
Congress did not contemplate the inclusion of any 
portion of Virginia, for the section of the act direct- 
ing the acquisition by commissioners, states that 
they shall '' purchase or accept such quantity of 
land on the eastern side of said river (Potomac) 
within the said district (that lying between the 
mouths of the Conogocheague and Anacostia 
rivers), as the President shall deem proper for the 
use of the United States, and according to such 
plan as the President shall approve." 

N"© explanation has been offered for what would 
appear to be a deliberate violation on the part of 
President Washington of two or more important 
provisions of the act. Within six weeks of his 
order directing the survey. Congress legalized the 
departures involved in his project by an amenda- 
tory act which, however, contained a prohibition 
against the erection of any public buildings upon 
the Virginia side of the river. It is reasonable 
to suppose that Wasliington had secured the agree- 
inent of the leaders in Congress to his proposed 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 31 

modification of location before lie directed what 
he probably regarded as a tentative survey. The 
wisdom of including in the district any territory 
west of the river was never generally accepted and 
the restriction against placing public buildings on 
that side excited the dissatisfaction of the Vir- 
ginian residents of the ^' ten miles square," and in 
1846, the territory was retroceded to the State by 
act of Congress. The Maryland boundary, how- 
ever, extends to the farther bank and thus the en- 
tire river lies wnthin the present limits of the 
District of Columbia. 

Washington's action in moving the location of 
the federal district southw^ard in what seemed to 
be an arbitrary manner excited a great deal of 
unfavorable comment and the opponents of the 
Potomac ^ site did not hesitate to declare that he 
was moved by a desire to enhance the value of 
his Mount Vernon estate and the Arlington prop- 
erty of his wife's grandson. However, the matter 
seems to be capable of explanation without the aid 
of any such ungenerous imputations. It must be 
admitted that nowdiere w^ithin the hundred mile 
stretch between the Anacostia and the Conogo- 
cheague can be found a site comparable wath that 
wdiich was chosen. The policy of including both 
banks of the Eastern Branch and the tow^ns of 

* Potomac, e. i., Potow-oni-eke — " The people who come 
and go." in other words the traders. The name was borne 
by a tribe before it was applied to the river. 



32 WASHINGTON. 

Alexandria and Georgetown in the '^ ten miles 
square " is patent when we remember that Wash- 
ington believed that the capital would become the 
^' greatest commercial emporium " of the United 
States. A sufficient inducement for the acceptance 
of the Virginia territory might have been found 
in the grant of $120,000 which the act of cession 
provided should accompany the land. Small as 
the amount appears to us to-day, it w^as in that 
incipient stage of the nation a very considerable 
sum to a government terribly embarrassed for the 
means of administration, and quite at a loss to know 
whence the money for the building of the federal 
city should come. As a matter of fact, private 
enterprise assumed the burden of the undertaking 
at the outset and for many years the largest pro- 
portion of the expense of improving the metropolis 
was borne by its citizens. 

The laws of the States from which the respective 
territories w^ere acquired remained in force over 
them, involving a complex system of jurisdiction 
from which the District has been relieved only 
in recent times. Long after they had been re- 
pealed or modified in the criminal statutes of ^Fary- 
land, the laws making the following and many 
other oifenses of a similar character punishable 
by death remained in force in the District of Co- 
lumbia : Burning a court-house or mansion ; break- 
ing into tobacco or other outhouses and stealing 



\' 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 33 

goods to the value of live shillings ; burning tobacco, 
stored or on the stalk; burning a ship, sloop or 
boat; stealing a horse, a negro or a boat; destroy- 
ing, or conspiring to destroy, any magazine of pro- 
visions, or military or naval stores of the United 
States. These laws were in force in the District 
at least as late as 1834. 

Towards the close of March, 1791, Washington 
went to Georgetown to confer with the commis- 
sioners as to the actual location of the city and 
to secure from the owners the necessary land. The 
site Avas already settled in his mind and overtures 
of a definite character had doubtless been made to 
the proprietors, for at the close of the day on which 
the President went over the ground, the following 
agreement was signed and witnessed: 

We, the subscribers, in consideration of the good 
benefits w^e expect to derive from having the Fed- 
eral City laid off upon our lands, do hereby agree 
and bind ourselves, heirs, executors, and adminis- 
trators, to convey in trust to the President of the 
U. S. or Commissioners, or such person or persons 
as he shall appoint, by good and sufficient deeds 
in fee simple, the whole of our respective lands 
wdiich he may think proper to include in the lines 
of the Federal City, for the purpose and on the con- 
ditions following: 

The President shall have the sole powder of direct- 
ing the Federal City to be laid off in what manner 
3 



34 WASHINGTON. 

he pleases. He may retain any number of squares 
he may think pro^^er for any public improvements 
or other public uses, and the lots only which shall 
be laid off shall be joint property between the 
trustees on behalf of the public, and equally di- 
vided between the public and the individuals as 
soon as may be after the city is laid oU'. 

For the streets the proprietors shall receive no 
compensation, but for the squares or lands in any 
form which shall be taken for public buildings 
or any kind of public improvements or uses, the 
proprietors whose land shall be taken shall receive 
at the rate of £25* per acre, to be paid by the public. 

The whole wood on the lands shall be the prop- 
erty of the proprietors, and should any be desired 
by the President to be reserved or left standing, 
the same shall be paid by the public at a just and 
reasonable valuation, exclusive of the £25 per acre 
to be paid for the land on which the same shall 
remain. 

Each proprietor shall retain full possession and 
use of his land until the same shall be sold and 
occupied by the purchase of the lots laid out 
thereon, and in all cases, when the public arrange- 
ment, as the streets, lots, etc., will admit of it, 
each proprietor shall possess his building and other 
improvements and graveyards, paying to the public 
only one half the present estimated value of the 

* Equivalent to $06.66 in Pennsylvania currency. 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 35 

land ou which the same shall be, or £12 slO per 
acre; but iu cases where the arrangements of the 
streets, lots, squares, etc., will nut admit of this 
and it shall become necessary to remove such build- 
ings, etc., the proprietors of the same shall be paid 
the reasonable value thereof by the public. 

Nothing herein contained shall affect the lots 
of the parties to this agreement which they may 
hold in the towns of Hamburgh and Carrolsburgh. 

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our 
hands and seals this thirtieth day of March, in 
the year of our Lord, 1791. 

Robert Peter, Ciias. Beatty, 

David Burnes, Anthony Holmead, 

Jas. M. Lingan, Wm. Young, 

Uriah Forrest, Edward Pierce, 

Benjamin Stoddert, Abraham Young, 

NoTLEY Young, James Pierce, 

Daniel Carroll, of Dudding- Wm. Prout, 

ton, Robert Peter, 

Overton Carr, Jas. Warren, by Benj. Stod- 

Thomas Beale, of George, dert, 

Wm. King, 

Carrollsburgh and Hamburgh w^ere two flourish- 
ing but unincorporated settlements. The former, 
situated at the junction of the Potomac and the 
Anacostia, occupied part of the original ^' Dudding- 
ton " j)roperty which passed in 1770 from Charles 
Carrol, junior, to Daniel Carrol, Xotley Young and 
Henry Rozer. 

The village of Hamburgh was founded in 1765 
by Jacob Funk and was originally known as Funks- 



36 WASHINGTON. 

town. It lay along the Potomac about a quarter 
of a mile to the west of w^iat are now^ the Monu- 
ment Grounds. The owners of land in Hamburgh 
and Carrollsburgh transferred their interests to 
the Commissioners in 1793 and 1794 in considera- 
tion of receiving certain lots in other parts of the 
city. 

The Commissioners experienced a great deal of 
difficulty in dealing with the original proprietors. 
There were genuine misunderstandings, and dis- 
putes as to extent of boundaries and locations of 
public buildings. There was general discontent 
with the action of the Commissioners and some dis- 
position to question the good faith of the President. 

Out of these disagreements arose a very silly 
and improbable story that has been repeated, I be- 
lieve, by every Avriter on the City of Washington. 
It is told with numerous variations, but was first 
recorded by Ben Perley Poore who heard it from 
his grandfather. As Poore tells the story, Wash- 
ington having agreed with the Commissioners that 
what is now Lafayette Square should be a reserva- 
tion, rode over to the house of David Burnes, who 
owned the property, to negotiate with him for its 
acquisition. Burnes refused to donate any more 
ground for public use. After a protracted argu- 
ment, Washington lost his temper and said : '' Had 
not the Federal Citv been laid out here, vou would 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 37 

have died a poor tobacco j^lanter." To this the 
Scotchman retorted : ^^ A^'e, mon ! an' had ye nae 
married the Widow Custis, wi' a' her nagurs, you 
would hae been a land surveyor to-day, an' a 
mighty poor one at that." 

In the first place David Burnes never owned 
the land now occupied by Lafayette Square. It 
was originally held by the Pierce family and 
passed to the Government through George Walker. 
Burnes's name is the second among the signers of 
the agreement with the original proprietors and 
there is no record Avhatever of any difficulty with 
him. On the contrary^ in the President's letter 
from Charleston to the Commissioners, May 7, 
1791, respecting these disputes he mentions five 
discontented proprietors, but Burnes is not included 
among them. It is very unlikely that the farmer 
would have spoken to the President in the manner 
described and much more unlikely that Washing- 
ton made use of the language attributed to him 
which is utterly inconsistent with what we know 
of his character and habit. 

More than one writer has fancifully described 
David Burnes as an ignorant uncouth Scotchman. 
There is no evidence that he was other than an 
American by birth like almost all of his neighbors. 
If he had been the rude boor he is pictured, it is 
difficult to account for men of education and refine- 



38 WASHINGTON. 

Tiient, siu'li as Van Xoss — wlio married his daugh- 
ter — freqneiitiiig his liouse as Ave know tliat thej 
did. 

In short there does not ajopear to be a single 
point in the Bnrnes story to recommend it to the 
credence of a sensible person. 

Aside from his natural desire to accelerate the 
establishment of the city in which he was keenly 
interested, Washington was moved by apprehension 
on account of the opposition to it and the imdis- 
guised plans to retain the seat of government per- 
manently in Philadelphia. A few days after his 
agreement with the proprietors he writes to the 
Commissioners, urging expedition and quoting a 
recent letter from erefferson in which the Secretary 
wrote: '' A bill was yesterday ordered to be 
brought into the House of Kepresentatives here 
for granting a sum of money for building a Federal 
Plall, house for the President." As to which the 
President connnents: "This, though I do not 
want any sentiment of mine promulgated with re- 
spect to it, marked unequivocally in my mind the 
designs of that State, and the necessity of exertion 
to carry the residence law into effect." 

The survey had been couqileted according to the 
directions already cited,'" and on April 15, 1701, the 
corner-stone which now fonns ]iart of the founda- 

* Tn ISSl it was foimd to bo dofootivo, each lino l>einf^ 
from 0;] to 280 feet in excess of ten miles. 



THE TEN MILES SQUARE. 39 

tion of the Jones Point Light-house, was laid at 
the extremity of ^' the upper cape of Hunting- 
Creek, in Virginia/' by Doctor Elisha Cullen Dick 
with Masonic rites.* 

It will be observed that in the agreement with 
the proprietors, the name '' Federal City " occurs 
several times and as this is the first record of that 
designation it may be attributed to Washington, 
for he doubtless drafted the document in question. 
A few months later the Commissioners wrote to 
Major L'Enfant : " We have agreed that the Fed- 
eral district shall be called the ' Territory of Co- 
lumbia,' and the Federal City the ' City of Wash- 
ington.' The title of the map will, therefore, be 
' A Map of the City of Washington in the Terri- 
tory of Columbia.' " 

'^ We have also agreed the streets to be named 
alphabetically one way, and numerically the other, 
the former divided into north and south letters 
and the latter into east and w^est numbers from 
the Capitol." 

The Commissioners had no authority of law for 
conferring names upon the district and city, but 
their dictum does not appear to have been ques- 
tioned and with slight modification their nomen- 
clature obtains to-day. But, although the territory 



* Doctor Dick was the first physician to reach the bedside 
of Washington in his fatal illness and remained with him 
to the last. 



40 WASHINGTON. 

is frequently mentioned in statutes as the ^' Dis- 
trict of Columbia " previous to that year, it is first 
so definitely designated by law in the opening para- 
graph of an act passed June 11, 1878, which pro- 
vides : 

" That all the territory which Avas ceded by the 
State of Maryland to the Congress of the United 
States for the permanent seat of the Government 
of the United States shall continue to be designated 
as the District of Columbia/' (20 Stats. 102.) 



CHAPTER III. 

PLANNING THE CITY. 

There prevails in this country a pojDular belief 
— whicli is not shared by intelligent foreigners — 
that the plan of the City of Washington was the 
mental creation of Charles L' Enfant, the Erench- 
man. It is less difficult to trace the source and 
growth of this fallacious idea than it is to find sub- 
stantial ground for its maintenance. Contempo- 
raries of Major L'Enfant and later writers have 
been too ready to accept the production of a phys- 
ical plan as evidence of creative conception. 

We have ample proof that Washington and Jeffer- 
son entertained many original ideas on the subject 
and took the keenest interest in it. Under such 
circumstances it is not reasonable to suppose that 
they left the matter entirely, or in large part, to 
a young man of limited experience. The magni- 
tude and grandeur of the design is sufficient refuta- 
tion of such a supposition. We can not imagine 
L'Enfant planning a city upon such lines in the 
face of the opposing opinion of almost the whole 
nation. With the exception of Madison, George 

41 



42 WASHINGTON. 

Washington "was the only man among tlie leaders 
of his jDeople who cherished snch an abounding 
faith in the growth of the young republic as to 
justify provision for a future population of half 
a million or more." To Washington we owe, with- 
out doubt, the conception as a whole and to Jeffer- 
son much of the detail. This we may concede with- 
out robbing Charles L'Enfant of the credit due 
him for his fine professional achievement in con- 
structing the plan. 

The name of L'Enfant is inseparably connected 
with the City of Washington. To him is justly 
conceded the honor of being the author of the 
original plan, the principal features of v\'hich were 
adhered to in laying out the capital. The fame of 
L'Enfant seems to have completely overshadowed 
the achievements of a no less able man — Andrew 
Ellicott — who played an important part in the 
work and completed the official map. 

Pierre Charles L'Enfant came to America from 
France in 1777, being then twenty-two years of 
affe. He had been a lieutenant in the Provincial 
Service of his native country and when he tendered 
his sword to the Continental Army he was commis- 
sioned Captain of Engineers. His services earned 

* The year before his death, Washington wrote to Mrs. 
Fairfax : " A century hence, if this country keeps united, 
it will produce a city though not as large as London, yet 
of a magnitude inferior to few others in Europe," He re- 
ferred to the capital, which he confidently believed would 
become the chief city of tlie country. 



PLANNING THE CITY. 43 

him promotion to the rank of Major and at the 
close of the war he remained in the country, enerao- 
ing in the business of civil engineer and architect. 
He erected an important structure for the corpora- 
tion of New York and was the designer and builder 
of " Morris's Eollj " in Philadelphia, which was 
never completed. 

Andrew Ellicott came of a remarkable Quaker 
family whose members by their inventions and 
enterprise contributed largely to the industrial 
progress of their age. He was one year older than 
L'Enfant and like him served in the Revolutionary 
War. Ellicott early gained distinction as a sur- 
veyor — one of the most useful and responsible 
professions of the time — and was employed in 
many important tasks. In 1784 he ran the bound- 
ary line between Virginia and Pennsylvania and in 
the following year, jointly with David Eittenhouse 
and Andrew Porter, located the western line of 
the latter State. In 1798 he was commissioned 
by President Washington to settle by survey the 
boundary disjmte between the States of New York 
and Pennsylvania and to decide the location of the 
town of Erie which New York claimed as within 
its confines. In later years Andrew Ellicott was 
regarded as one of the leading scientists of the time 
— particularly in the branches of astronomy and 
mathematics. The greatest men of the time enter- 
tained the highest estimate of his talents. 



44 WASHINGTON. 

Addressing the Commissioners, January 15, 
1791, Thomas Jefferson writes: 

'^ The President thinks it better that the outline 
at least of the City, and perhaps Georgetown should 
be laid down in the plat of the territory. I have 
the honor now to send it and to desire that Major 
Ellicott may do it as soon as convenient, that it 
may be returned in time to be laid before Con- 
gress." 

February 2, 1791, the Secretary of State in- 
structs Ellicott to ^' proceed by the first stage to 
the Federal territory on the Potomac, for the pur- 
pose of making a survey of it." The date of his 
commission and his previous employments entirely 
refute the careless statement of some writers that 
Major Ellicott secured his appointment to service 
in connection with the capital operations by under- 
mining L'Enfant. 

In March, 1791, Jefferson directed L'Enfant to 
go to Georgetown for the purpose of making " draw- 
ings of the particular grounds most likely to be 
approved for the site of the Federal town and the 
buildings." A few months later, Colonel John 
Trumbull, the painter, passing through Georgetown 
on his round of making studies of the signers of 
the Declaration of Independence, ^' found Major 
L'Enfant drawing his plan of the City of Wash- 
ington." 

It is almost certain that Washington and Jeffer- 



PLANNING THE CITY. 45 

son contributed in important measure to the design, 
the one out of his great intellect, professional abil- 
ity and familiarity with the principal towns of 
the country; the other from his wide knowledge 
of European cities. To Washington must be at- 
tributed the idea of laying out a capital adapted 
to a population of eight hundred thousand in a 
country containing less than ^ve million peo- 
ple. To him, penetrating the future with the eye 
of faith, appeared upon this spot one of the great 
commercial centers of the world — the focal poin.t 
of a powerful nation. From personal observation 
of foreign capitals Jefferson was able to — and 
doubtless did — afford the designer many useful 
suggestions. If the truth were known Jefferson's 
hand might be discernible in a much larger portion 
of the plan than we imagine. In April, 1791, he 
writes to L'Enfant: 

" In compliance with your request, I have ex- 
amined my papers and found the plans of Erank- 
fort-on-the-Mayne, Carlsruhe, Paris, Amsterdam, 
Strasburg, Paris, Orleans, Bordeaux, Lyons^ Mont- 
pelier, Marseilles, Turin, and Milan, which I send 
in a roll by the post. They are on large and accu- 
rate scale, having been procured by me while in 
those respective cities myself. As they are con- 
nected with notes I made in my travels, and often 
necessary to explain them to myself, I will beg 
your care of them, and to return them when no 






46 WASHINGTON. 

longer useful to you, leaving you absolutely free 
to keep them as long as useful. 1 am happy that 
the President has left the planning uf the town 
in such good hands, and have no doubt it will be 
done to general satisfaction." 

In the same letter the Secretary volunteers a sug- 
gestion, thus : '" Whenever it is proposed to pre- 
pare plans for the Capitol, I should prefer the 
adoption of some one of the models of antiquity, 
which have had the approbation of thousands of 
years; and for the President's house, I should pre- 
fer the celebrated fronts of modern buildings, which 
have already received the approbation of all good 
judges, such are the Galerie de Louvre, the Garden 
Meubles, and two fronts of the Hotel du Salm." 

Many of the details of his plan L'Enfant derived 
from features of European cities and some of them, 
perhaps, from those of American towns. Glenn 
Brown '^' is of the opinion that the plan may have 
been influenced by the scheme of Annapolis which 
^' has two focal points from which several streets 
radiate,'' and that the idea of them all may have 
had its origin in the similar feature of Williams- 
burg, Virginia. ^' Washington was familiar with 
these two cities and undoubtedly appreciated the 
pleasing effect of their plans." However, that may 
be, L'Enfant's design was in no sense a copy but 

* The author of numerous interesting and valuable papers 
and magazine articles relating to Washington as viewed 
from its architectural and landscape standpoints. 



PLANNING THE CITY. 47 

bears the stamp of originality and a fine artistic 
conception. The resemblance at points between 
Washington and the Paris of to-day has given rise 
to a wide-spread belief that the arrangement of the 
former is based upon the plan of the latter. Such, 
however, is by no means the case. In the Champs 
'Elysees and Versailles, a landscape architect, striv- 
ing after beauty and natural effect, could hardly 
have failed to find inspiration, but otherwise there 
was little in the Paris of the eighteenth century that 
Avould have appealed to him. Its present system of 
radiating avenues, begun by the Pirst, and com- 
pleted by the Third, Napoleon, may, indeed, have 
been suggested by the arrangement of the City of 
Washington, the engraved plan of which was ex- 
tensively circulated in Europe before it was put 
into execution. 

Following a general report on the treatment of 
the site, L'Enfant submitted a tentative plan in 
June, 1791. This did not meet Avith the approval 
of the President, who returned it with suggestions 
for alteration. Two months later the engineer made 
his final report and accompanied it with a com- 
plete and annotated map. Nor does this appear 
to have satisfied General Washington. He for- 
warded it to Congress but in his letter of transmis- 
sion intimated that it was not final and requested its 
return. Peferring to the matter six years later, the 
President wrote : " After the map had been sent to 



48 WASHINGTON. 

Congress several errors were discovered and cor- 
rected, many alterations made, and the appropria- 
tions * (except as to the Capitol and President's 
house) struck out." 

This plan of L'Enf ant's contained several fea- 
tures which were rejected but might have been 
adopted with advantage to the future city. From 
the Capitol to the '^ President's park " was to run 
a ^' Grand Avenue, 400 feet in breadth, and about a 
mile in length, bordered with gardens, ending in a 
slope from houses on each side." This avenue was 
retained in Ellicott's draAving and now exists as the 
'^ Mall." The recent building operations upon it 
are designed to produce something of the grandeur 
conceived by L'Enfant. lie intended to place at 
its termination, on the spot now occupied by the 
Monument, the equestrian statue of George Wash- 
ington, voted by the Continental Congress. It was 
contemplated that tliis spacious thoroughfare should 
be lined witli ])ublic buildings and witli the resi- 
dences of liigli officials and foreign ministers. 

The most curious feature of the plan is the ap- 
propriation of a square for the erection of a church, 
to be devoted to " National pur])oses, such as pub- 
lic prayer, thanksgivings, funeral orations, etc., 
and assigned to the special use of no particular sect 
or denomination, but equally open to all." It was 
further designed to contain " such monuments as 

* " Appropriations " or reservations of sites, that is. 



PLANNING THE CITY. 49 

were voted by the late Continental Congress, for 
those heroes who fell in the cause of liberty, and for 
such others as may hereafter be decreed by the voice 
of a grateful nation.'' The edifice is shown in EUi- 
cott's map, although it is not easy to believe that the 
proposition for the establishment of an institution 
of religious character by the Government could have 
had the endorsement of Washington or Jefferson. 
It is probable that L'Enfant had Westminster Abbey 
in mind when he made the suggestion. 

The plan also appropriates squares '^ for the use 
of all religious denominations " on which it was in- 
tended they should erect individual places of w^or- 
ship. 

Water was to have been a prominent feature in 
the ornamentation of the city according to L'En- 
fant's design. Noting that '' there are wdthin the 
limits of the City, above twenty-five good springs 
of excellent water abundantly supplied in the driest 
season of the year," he provides for " five grand 
fountains, intended wdth a constant spout of water," 
one to be placed on Pennsylvania Avenue, midway 
between the '^ President's Palace and the Congress 
House," and the others at conspicuous points. The 
waters of the Tiber, which had a fall of over two 
hundred feet in their course through the city, were 
to be led '^ to the high ground where the Congress 
House stands, and after watering that part of the 
city, the overplus to fall from under the base of 



50 WASIIIXGTON. 

that edifice, and in a cascade of twenty feet in 
height and fifty feet in breadth into the reservoir 
below; thence to run in three fills * through the gar- 
den into the Grand Canal." 

The Grand Canal, designed to afford " a free 
■flowing fresh waterway through the heart of the 
city and effectively drain the lowland along its 
course/' started where the Tiber joined the Poto- 
mac at the foot of Seventeenth street ; thence it ran 
straight along the '^ Grand Avenue " to the reseiwoir 
of the '^ Grand Cascade/' continuing along the 
course of the Saint James Creek, and finally reach- 
ing the Potomac through Greenleaf's Point. The 
scheme of the canal evidently appealed to Jefferson, 
for in the next year we find him urging it upon the 
Commissioners. Xo steps for its construction were 
taken, however, until Congress — some seventeen 
years later — incorporated the '^ Washington Canal 
Company." The resultant waterway, which was in 
use for ab(jut half a century, became an unsightly 
nuisance and a menace to health, and was filled in. 

The plan provided for a reservation — and this 
feature was among those approved by the President 
— of somewhat more than two acres at the place 
marked on the map for one of the '^ grand foun- 
tains," and noAV occupied by the Central Market. 

* Doubtless fils, that is filft cVeau. L'Enfaiit never ac- 
quired irreat facility in writing' En<rlish and, althouirh he 
spent tiie latter two-thirds of liis life in America, always 
spoke with a foreign accent. 



PLANNING THE CITY. 51 

It is to be deplored that this public plot, with its 
exceptional capacity for beautilication, fell into the 
hands of a private corporation and became the point 
d'appui of the kitchen and the larder. It is to 
be hoped — and, indeed, expected — that in the 
execution of the projected improvement of '' the 
Avenue," this reservation will be recovered and 
devoted to some less unlovely and prosaic purpose. 

L'Enfant designed a square in front of the Cap- 
itol and '^ around this square, and all along the 
Avenue (East Capitol street), from the two bridges 
to the Federal house, the pavement on each side," 
throughout its entire length of a mile, was to ^' pass 
under an arched W'ay, under whose cover, shops " 
might '' be most conveniently and agreeably sit- 
uated." This idea accorded with the general opin- 
ion at the time that the city would grow up most 
thickly in the sections immediately around the Cap- 
itol and to the south and east of it. So we find 
the designer placing two of the three markets for 
which he provides, at deep water on the bank of the 
Eastern Branch. 

Washington and Jefferson, eager to commence 
building and desirous to obtain from the sale of lots 
the money with wdiich to prosecute the w^ork, re- 
peatedly urged L'Enfant toward the completion of 
the plan, upon w^hich everything else had necessa- 
rily to wait. L'Enfant was opposed to the publica- 
tion of the map and in his final report to the Presi- 



52 WASHINGTON. 

dent argued against it on tlie ground that specu- 
lators would take advantage of the knowledge of 
the arrangement projDOsed for the city to buy large 
parcels of land in particularly favorable sections. 
Such a consideration had, of course, no connection 
with the business of the engineer or architect, and 
this was pointed out to him. Failing to move the 
President by his arguments, he endeavored with 
characteristic obstinacy, to carry his point by de- 
laying the engraving of the map and his persistent 
insubordination at last brought matters to a crisis. 

To his relative, David Stuart, one of the Com- 
missioners, Washington wrote, Xovember 20, 1791: 

" I had heard before the receipt of your letter of 
the 29th of October, and with a degree of surprise 
and concern not easy to be expressed, that Major 
L'Enfant had refused the Map of the Federal City, 
Avhen it Avas requested by the Commissioners for the 
satisfaction of the purchasers at the sale. . . . 
I have, however, since I have come to the knowledge 
of Major L'Enfant's refusal of the map at the sale, 
given him to understand through a direct channel, 
though not an official one as yet, . . . that 
he must in future look to the Commissioners for 
directions ; that, they having laid the foundation of 
this great design, the superstructure depended upon 
them ; that I was perfectly satisfied his plans and 
opinions would have due weight if properly offered 
and explained. . . . He conceives, or would 



PLANNING THE CITY. 53 

have others believe, that the sale was promoted by 
withholding the general map, and thereby the means 
of comparison; but I caused it to be signified to 
him, that I am of a different opinion, and that it is 
much easier to impede than to force a sale, as none 
who knew what they were about would be induced 
to buy (to borrow an old adage), a pig in a poke. 
. . . When I see Major L'Enfant, who it is 
said will shortly be here, I shall endeavor to bring 
him to some explanation of the terms on which he 
will serve the public; and will impress upon him 
the necessity of dispatch, that as early a sale as cir- 
cumstances will admit may ensue." 

Probably anticipating the final rupture with 
Major L'Enfant, the Secretary of State addressed 
Andrew Ellicott, who was at work in the district, as 
follows, in a letter dated November 21, 1791: 

'^ It is excessively desirable that an extensive sale 
of lots in Washington should take place as soon as 
possible. It has been recommended by the Com- 
missioners to have all the squares adjacent to the 
avenue from the President's house to the Capitol, 
on both sides, and from thence to the river, through 
the whole breadth of the ground between Rock 
Creek and the Eastern Branch first laid off; the 
object of the present is to ask your private opinion 
of the earliest time at which this portion of the 
work can be completed, which I will beg the favor 
of you to communicate to me by letter. In order 



54 WASHING TOX. 

that the sale may not be delayed by the engrav- 
ing, it is hoped that by communicating, what is 
executed from time to time, the engraver may nearly 
keep pace ^vith you." 

During the ensuing months the same urgency is 
exhibited on one side and met with obstinate dis- 
regard on the other. The Commissioners find it 
impossible to secure from Major L'Enfant acknowl- 
edgment of their authority or conformity with their 
suggestions, and their report to this effect elicits the 
following letter from the Secretary of State under 
date, February 22, 1792 : 

'' The advance of the season begins to require 
that the plans for the buildings and other public 
works at the Federal city, should be in readiness, 
and the persons engaged who are to carry them into 
execution, the circumstances which have lately hap- 
pened have produced an uncertainty whether you 
may be disposed to continue your services there. I 
am charged by the President to say that your con- 
tinuance would he desirable to him ; and at the same 
time to add that the law requires it should be in 
subordination to the commissioners. ... I 
must beg the favor of your answer whether you will 
continue your services on the footing expressed in 
this letter." 

The reply to this communication was quite un- 
satisfactory and drew from Jefferson an ultimatum 
in tlio followinc: terms: 



PLANNING THE CITY. 55 

^' From your letter received yesterday in answer 
to my last, and your declaration in conversation 
with Mr. Lear, it is understood that you absolutely 
decline acting under the authority of the present 
Commissioners; if this understanding of your 
meaning be right, I am instructed by the President 
to inform you that notwithstanding the desire he 
has entertained to preserve your agency in the busi- 
ness, the condition upon Avhich it is to be done is in- 
admissible, and your services must be at an end." 

A few days later, Jefferson informed the Com- 
missioners that ^' it having been found impracti- 
cable to employ Major L'Enfant about the Federal 
city in that degree of subordination which was law- 
ful and proper," he had been formally dismissed. 
" It is now proper," the writer continued, '^ that he 
should receive the reward of his past services; and 
the wish that he should have no just cause of dis- 
content, suggests that it should be liberal. The 
President thinks two thousand five hundred, or three 
thousand dollars. But leaves the determination to 
you." 

Ellicott, who was upon the ground and already 
engaged in the work, w-as the natural successor to 
L'Enfant. In the letter wdiich informs the Com- 
missioners of the dismissal of the latter, Jefferson 
instructs them that ^' Ellicott is to go on, the w^eek 
after next, to finish laying off the plan on the 
ground, and surveying and platting the district." 



56 WASHINGTON. 

It is altogether a mistake to assume, as most writers 
have done, that Ellicott did no more than to copy a 
finished plan of L'Enfant's. The former has never 
received credit for his important share in the plan- 
ning of the city. It does not seem to be generally 
realized that he entered upon the work before L'En- 
fant did and was engaged in it during the entire 
year of the Frenchman's service. EUicott's claim 
to recognition is not based upon hypothesis or sur- 
mise, but rests upon unquestionable evidence. 

During the early constructive period of the cap- 
ital, numerous disputes arose between the Commis- 
sioners and owners of city property, growing out of 
the many alterations made in the plan. In 1802, 
a committee was appointed by the House to inquire 
into the facts and examine the claims of the respec- 
tive interests. This committee reported to the Sev- 
enth Congress at its first session. Careful search 
fails to reveal any recorded contradiction of their 
conclusions in the matter under immediate consid- 
eration. 

The report runs as follows : " Your committee 
find that the plan of the city was originally designed 
by Mr. L'Enfant, but it was in many respects re- 
jected by the President of the United States, and 
a plan drawn by Mr. Ellicott purporting to have 
been made from actual survey, which recognized the 
alterations made therein, and which was engraved 



PLANNING THE CITY. 57 

and published by the order of General Washing- 
ton in the year 1792. This plan was circulated 
by the Government through the United States, and 
sent to our agents in Europe, by authority of the 
Government, as the plan of the City and is the only 
one which has ever been engraved and published; 
this is generally known by the appellation of the 
engraved plan." 

In continuance this report cites a formal state- 
ment by a number of citizens to President Adams 
in 1798 : '^ While Mr. Ellicott was surveyor a 
plan was engraved by the direction of the Commis- 
sioners, and a very numerous impression taken 
therefrom. ... This plan although it dif- 
fered in many respects from that by which the first 
sales were made — and which had been laid before 
Congress," (that is the final plan of L'Enfant, sub- 
mitted to the President in August, 1791), ''was 
generally considered as the final plan of the City; 
and from that period sales have invariably been 
made in conformity therewith, under the idea that 
the sanction under which it issued was a sufficient 
guarantee of its stability. It has already been ob- 
served that there were several alterations made in 
the plan between Mr. L'Enfant's first design, and 
the publishing of the last engraved plan in Pliila- 
delphia, by the Commissioners, and promulgated as 
the plan of the City." 



68 WASHINGTON. 

From the Commissioners, under date March 23, 
1802, the Chairman of the Committee received the 
following significant communication: 

^^ Major L'Enfant's ])]i\n of the C'ity was sent to 
the House of Representatives on the 13th of De- 
cember, 1791, by President Washington for the in- 
formation of the House and afterward withdrawn. 
Many alterations were made therefrom by Major 
Ellicott with the approbation of the President and 
under his authority; all the appropriations except 
as to the Capitol and President's house were struck 
out and the plan thus altered sent to the engravers, 
intending that work and the promulgation thereof 
to give the final and regulating stamp." 

In 1707, Washington wrote to the Commis- 
sioners in the following unequivocal terms : ^' That 
many alterations have been made from L'Enfant's 
plan by ^Fajor Ellicott Avith the approbation of the 
Executive is not denied; that so)ue were deemed 
essential is avowed and had it not been for the ma- 
terials which he happened to possess, it is probable 
that no engTaving from L'Enfant's draughts ever 
would have been exhibited to the public, for after the 
disagreement took place between him and the Com- 
missioners, his obstinacy threw^ every difficulty in 
the way of it? accomplishment. To this summary 
it may be added that !Mr. Davidson " — (one of the 
complainants) — '^ is mistaken if he supposes that 
the transmission of Major L'Enfant's plan of the 



PLANNING THE CITY. 59 

City to Congress was the completion thereof; so far 
from it, it will appear by the message which accom- 
panied the same that it was given as a matter of in- 
formation only, to show what state the business was 
in and the return of it requested. That neither 
House of Congress passed any act consequent there- 
upon ; that it remained as before, under the control 
of the Executive, that afterwards several errors 
ivere discovered and corrected, many alterations 
made, and the appropriations, except as to the Cap- 
itol and the President's house, struck out under 
authority before it was sent to the engraver intend- 
ing that work and the promulgation thereof were 
to give the final and regulating stamp." 

In a later letter to William Thornton, the Presi- 
dent said: ^^ I have never had but one opinion on 
this subject, and that is that nothing ought to jus- 
tify a departure from the engraved plan, but the 
probability of some great public benefit, or unavoid- 
able necessity." 

From the foregoing it is clear that the only ap- 
proved and accepted plan of the City of Washington 
w^as drawn by Andrew Ellicott and that it contained 
many and important divergencies from L'Enfant's 
design. It is very evident that the talented Quaker 
rendered highly valuable services in the lajang out 
of the city and more than probable that his was one 
of the several minds that undoubtedly contributed 
to the conception. The correspondence of the time 



60 WASHINGTON. 

shows that both Washington and Jefferson were 
highly appreciative of Ellicott's work in the dis- 
trict and that they had begun — at least tentatively 
— to consider his substitution for L'Enfant several 
months before the necessity arose. 

If the inquisitor would arrive at truth he must 
steel himself against the lure of sentiment. With 
a lively sympathy for the erratic genius to whom 
we are in great measure indebted for the possession 
of the most beautiful city in the world, I have 
striven, whilst refraining from the extravagant en- 
comiums and the exaggerated pity which writers 
have generally bestowed upon L'Enfant, to do full 
justice to his claims upon our admiration and grati- 
tude. To him is undoubtedly due the credit for the 
construction of the general scheme of the City of 
Washington and for its most distinctive feature, the 
avenues radiating from central points, embellished 
by pleasance and statuary. For originality of de- 
sign and artistic effect the plan has elicited the 
highest praise from the most critical judges and its 
fundamental idea has been universally approved by 
architects and artists. 

It is to be hoped that nothing in these pages will 
be construed as an effort to detract from L'Enfant's 
right to be considered a man of the highest talents 
and professional ability. Xo such object is sought, 
or desired, but without in any way impairing the 
full concession of the Frenchman's genius, it may 



PLANNING THE CITY. 61 

be possible to show that his achievement fell short 
of its promise — so short, indeed, as to have failed 
entirely of practical result but for the assistance of 
another. 

In the final analysis, it is to the man of action 
and not to the dreamer, that the world is indebted 
for benefits enjoyed and to him the reward is justly 
paid. Xot to him who generates an idea, so much 
as to him who puts it into concrete form, is our 
gratitude directed. Estimated upon this principle, 
without sentimental bias, L'Enfant's service does 
not loom so large to our vision as it has been de- 
picted and we are, perhaps, prompted to a more ap- 
preciative consideration of the active and effective 
part played by others in the early operations. 

L'Enfant had the artistic temperament in such a 
pronounced degree that it blinded him to many of 
the vital exigencies of the occasion and placed him 
in constant variance with the Commissioners. 
They, as well as Washington and Jefferson, had to 
treat the establishment of the city largely as a busi- 
ness proposition. This was a view which the en- 
thusiastic and visionary Frenchman was incapable 
of accepting. Regardless of the fact that the build- 
ing operations were mainly dependent upon the sale 
of lots, he impeded the object by withholding his 
plan from the view of prospective purchasers, for 
fear that extensive' improvements — which were 
earnestly desired by the President and Commis- 



62 WASHINGTON. 

sioners — might interfere with his design and mar 
its beauty. The President's disapproval of the 
plans and the changes wrought in them are ac- 
counted for hy this tendency on the part of L'En- 
fant to overlook practical considerations. He was 
too often inclined to sacrifice convenience and util- 
ity to beauty and ornament. 

The extremely high estimate in which he held his 
own talents and abilities led him to adhere to his 
opinions with a tenacity quite foreign to reason 
and good judgment. The fatuous obstinacy with 
which he blighted his prospects and impaired his 
affairs is pitiful to contemplate. He scorned the 
conciliatory offices of the President and Secretary 
of State in their efforts to establish an entente cor- 
diale between him and the Commissioners ; he curtly 
refused the compensation promptly tendered to him 
for his services, although it seems to have been lib- 
eral and was the sum suggested by General Wash- 
ington ; he rejected, apparently without considera- 
tion, the urgent advice of President Monroe to ac- 
cept the proffered position of instructor at West 
Point, and this despite the fact that the opportunity 
offered an escape from the imminent prospect of 
poverty. 

Considering his military training. Major L'En- 
fant was singularly deficient in the sense of dis- 
cipline. His dealings with the Commissioners were 
constantly characterized by insubordination upon 



PLANNING THE CITY. 63 

his part and this was later extended to his relations 
with the President and Secretary of State. The 
wonder is, not that he was dismissed, but that he 
was not dismissed sooner. The remarkable for- 
bearance of General Washington was due no doubt, 
in large measure, to an appreciation of L'Enfant's 
exceptional talents, but it was also influenced by 
the fear, which Jefferson expressed, that '' the 
enemies of the enterprise '' would '^ take advantage 
of the retirement of L'Enfant to trumpet an abor- 
tion of the whole." 

This gifted, but unbalanced, foreigner has left 
in his own handwriting ample evidence of the jeal- 
ousy and suspicion to which he was prone and which 
he indulged to the extremity of his pettiness. In 
August, 1791, Jefferson writes to him: '^ A per- 
son applied to me the other day on the subject of 
engraving a map of the Federal territory. I ob- 
served to him that if yourself or Mr. Ellicott chose 
to have this done you would have the best right to 
do it.'' L'Enfant underscores the word '^ Ellicott " 
and writes at the bottom of the page : ^' What right 
could this man have thereto." What right, indeed, 
farther than that he had been employed by the Gov- 
ernment to make a survey of the territory in ques- 
tion before L'Enfant entered its service, and was 
then engaged in the work."^ 

* See letter of Jefferson conveying instructions to Ellicott, 
p. 42. 



64 WASHINGTON. 

Xow note the contrast between the pnerile atti- 
tude of L'Enfant, as evinced in this note, and the 
genial good-will expressed in the following extract 
from a letter written by Ellicott to his wife, almost 
upon the same day. 

^' We have a most elegant camp and things are 
in fine order, but where you are not there are no 
charms. I expect my companion. Major L'Enfant, 
which is pronounced in English Lonfong, will pay 
you a visit in my name next week, he is a most 
worthy French gentleman and tho' not one of the 
most handsome of men, he is from his good breed- 
ing, and native politeness, a first rate favorite among 
the ladies/' 

It is impossible to suppress a wish that ^[ajiu' 
L'Enfant had displayed a little less of the '' native 
politeness " of the Erenchman if it might have 
been compensated for by a little more of the manly 
ingenuousness of the Quaker American. 

L'Enfant suspected and, indeed, accused Ellicott 
of having undermined him with the authorities. 
There is not one iota of evidence to support the ac- 
cusation and it is difiicult to find any ground, apart 
from the natural disposition of the man, to support 
the suspicion. Ellicott was on hardly better terms 
with the Commissioners than was L'Enfant and it 
is clear that the President was influenced solely by 
his private judgment in breaking with the diflPicult 
Frenchman. But, perhaps, the best refutation is to 



PLANNING THE CITY. 65 

be found in the frank and generous character which 
distinguished Andrew Ellicott throughout his long 
and honorable career and gained for him the confi- 
dence and friendship of the most estimable men in 
the nation. 

Nor is it possible to entertain seriously the charge 
of Major L'Enfant that the Commissioners, or their 
agents with their knowledge, stole his effects, includ- 
ing his plans and notes. That they were purloined 
seems to be a fact, but the most probable explana- 
tion of the affair is that the theft was contrived by 
one or more of the many persons who desired for 
purposes of speculation to secure exact informa- 
tion of the proposed arrangement of the capital. It 
is entirely beyond the bounds of reason to suppose 
that men deservedly enjoying the high reputation 
which attached to each of the three Commissioners 
could have had any hand wittingly in such a pro- 
ceeding. 

L'Enfant embodied his charge against the Com- 
missioners in a formal affidavit and there is no 
doubt that he was convinced of the truth of it, for 
his honesty was beyond question. He was in a 
particularly favorable position to have made money 
surreptitiously in connection with the task en- 
trusted to him and, in view of the numerous en- 
deavors to induce the Commissioners to alter details 
of the plan for the personal benefit of the applicants, 
it is safe to surmise that L'Enfant did not lack of 
5 



66 WASHINGTON. 

opportunity to improve his condition by prostituting 
his office. 

The extravagant fancies which this unfortunate 
man allowed to take possession of his mind find 
frequent illustration in his letters and memorials. 
In 1800, he points out to the Commissioners that 
it is due to his exertions that in the end the city is 
to become a rich corporation and, '' if the progress 
has not been so rapid nor so brilliant " as was 
hoped, it is due to departure from his principles. 
Jealousy had caused his removal and immediately 
after his departure, as a direct result, the enterprise 
fell into a deplorable state. 

Referring to Ellicott, whom he styles without 
warrant one of his '^ Assistants," he claims to have 
been injured — and the wrong is by inference 
charged to Washington and Jefferson — by the "' de- 
ception of employing near me a disgiiised person- 
age who rendering himself serviceable gained free 
access to all my papers and so honorably acquitted 
of his Secret Commission gathering all by transcrip- 
tion and chalk out of Manuscripts and Drawings as 
to have at the opportune moment secured all that 
could serve to others to reap reputation and profit 
from my labors." 

Pages of this sort of intemperate and fallacious 
statement are followed by pages of highly exagger- 
ated expression of the merit and value of L'Enfant's 
services. It is very tedious reading and excites 



PLANNING THE CITY. 67 

pity for the deluded writer, who displays a sincere 
belief in the truth of his accusations and the justice 
of his claims. 

To the Senate he addresses a fantastic memorial, 
asking their consideration of '^ injury done to my 
fame as an Artist " and " of the resulting injury 
to my fortune." On the latter score, after show- 
ing that he should have gained from thirty thousand 
to sixty thousand dollars from the sale of maps of 
the City of Washington, he goes on to state that his 
removal from New York entailed the sacrifice '' of 
great chances of fortune " and the absolute loss of a 
property worth five thousand dollars '' through con- 
trivance of some malevolent avaricious men amongst 
the Corporation of that City." 

Then he appears to have had a contingent interest 
in some prospective company for the improvement 
of the City of Washington, whose plan, as he out- 
lines it, seems to savor strongly of the speculative 
schemes that he denounces with so much vigor and 
might afford a detractor ground for impugning his 
good faith in withholding the plans from the public. 
The memorial goes on to say that '' those Jealousies 
and Speculations Contradictory to my System 
Caused me the loss of a bargain of $50,000, a Sum 
of right perquisite accruing from particular Com- 
pagnies Entreprises of building in amount at first 
place of $1,000,000 and which Intended to double 
that Sum with an Increase of the benefit to me, 



68 WASHINGTON. 

being to have been planed and conducted in concert 
and to the advancement of the public part of Im- 
provements were Consequently to have depended 
upon my direction." 

L'Enfant's papers alxjund in chimerical state- 
ments and reckless expressions. Even though we 
make the most liberal allowance for his limited 
facility in the use of English, his sentiments and 
language must excite our condemnation. He seems 
to have conceived that the whole world was in league 
against him, whereas, the truth is that himself was 
his worst enemy. There was apparently a general 
disposition to treat him kindly and with the utmost 
consideration. Whilst his writings teem with 
vituperation, I have not been able to find a line of 
similar abuse directed towards him by another. On 
the contrary, letters addressed to him and those in 
which he is referred to, are almost uniformly 
couched in respectful and genial terms. 

In writing of L'Enfant, most writers appear to 
have been moved by maudlin sentiment rather than 
by consideration of the facts. He is referred to as 
^' the unhonored and neglected " genius, the man 
whose inestimable services to this country met with 
cold ingratitude, and in similar strain, inferentially 
reflecting upon those responsible for his employ- 
ment. 

As to his reward : L'Enfant was in the service 
of this Government prociselv twelve mouths. He 



PLANNING THE CITY. 69 

was dismissed on account of flagrant insubordina- 
tion. Jefterson's letter informing the Commission- 
ers ^ of the fact, also instructs them to make a lib- 
eral reward to the engineer for his past services and 
states that ^' the President tliinks two thousand five 
hundred or three thousand dollars " would be an 
equitable amount. In the course of a few days the 
Commissioners reply to the Secretary stating that 
they have adopted tlie President's suggestion as to 
compensating Major L'Enfant, that he has already 
received about six hundred dollars from them in ad- 
dition to his living expenses and that they do not 
anticipate his dissatisfaction with the settlement. 

On the same day the Commissioners notified 
L'Enfant, in Philadelphia, that they have placed 
the sum of five hundred guineas to his credit with a 
firm of that city and that they will also deed to him 
a lot, either near the President's house or near the 
Capitol, as he may choose. 

The sum mentioned was equivalent to $2,399 in 
Pennsylvania currency and added to the $600 al- 
ready advanced would have practically amounted 
to $3,000. The lot in either of the locations men- 
tioned would probably have been worth $500. The 
total, especially when considered in connection with 
a year's living expenses, would appear to be a most 
liberal compensation. This view did not at all ac- 

* See extract from Jefferson's letter to the Commissioners. 
p. 53. 



70 WASHINGTON. 

cord, however, with L'Enfant's ideas. He rejected 
the offer and one of the grievances enumerated in 
a later memorial is '' the hearty and pressant man- 
ner of a tender of a little money expressedly as 
ecquit of all obligations the rejection of which was 
commended by feelings of a better due." 

Estimated in the light of the conditions of the 
times and considered in comparison with the sal- 
aries paid to Washington, Jefferson and Hamilton * 
for their invaluable services, the remuneration 
awarded to Major L'Enfant, who repeatedly pro- 
fesses to have been actuated by patriotic zeal, is 
suggestive of generosity. How far it fell short of 
the Frenchman's estimate of the value of his ser- 
vices is shown by the claim against the Government 
which he advanced eight years later. In this the 
sums due to him are itemized as follows: For one 
year's labor, $8,000 ; for the profit he should have 
received from the sale of maps, $37,500 ; '^ for per- 
quisites of right in particuhir negotiations and en- 
terprises," $50,000; a total of $95,500. It is 
needless to say that this claim was not seriously 
considered by Congress. A bill was, however, 
passed in 1804, authorizing the Superintendent of 
the city to settle the claim '' in the manner, and on 
the terms heretofore proposed, by the said Com- 

* Jofforson and Hamilton pacli received an annual salary 
of $.3,500 as Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, respectively. 



PLANNING THE CITY. 71 

missioners." One of L'Enfant's creditora secured 
a judgment against him before this money could be 
paid and he received none of it. Six years later he 
was awarded $2,394 by act of Congress, the amount 
being reckoned as the equivalent of the ^ve hun- 
dred guineas placed to his credit by the Commis- 
sioners. 

L'Enfant, after his severance from the City of 
Washington, performed important services for the 
Government in the capacity of engineer and in 
1812 was offered a professorship at West Point. 
He spent his last years in poverty, but comfort, as 
the honored guest of William Dudley Digges at 
Green Hill and was buried in the private graveyard 
which, after the manner of the time, lay adjacent 
to the house. Por many years before his death — 
at the age of seventy — in 1825, he was a familiar 
figure to the inhabitants of the District — a tall, 
melancholy man of distinguished appearance, 
dressed in thread-bare surtout, and high bell- 
crowned hat, leaning heavily upon a staff and fol- 
lowed by half a dozen hunting dogs. 

It is reasonably asserted that the capital should 
contain some memorial of Pierre Charles L'Enfant 
but what more splendid monument could he have 
than the city itself? The absence of a statue or 
similar material testimony to his genius loses much 
of its significance when we remember that nothing 



72 WASHINGTON. 

of the sort in Washington commemorates the super- 
lative services of Alexander Hamilton, who in in- 
tellect had no peer among his contemporaries, and 
in achievement but one.* 

* As these pages go to press, a bill is before Congress for 
the purpose of removing the bones of L'Enfant to tlie campus 
of the Catholic University and erecting a monument over 
them, and a movement to raise a statue in memory of Hamil- 
ton by private subscription has been started. 



CHAPTER IV. 



BREAKING GROUND. 



The Commissioners were confronted by a task 
of extraordinary difficulty. In less than ten years 
time there was to be evolved from a tract of land, 
almost uninhabited and more than half occupied by 
swamp and woodland, a city capable of accommodat- 
ing the personnel and machinery of the Govern- 
ment, as well as the additional population that 
would naturally be attracted to its seat. Whilst 
theoretically they were responsible only for the pub- 
lic w^orks, it actually devolved upon them to ensure 
the erection of private buildings without which the 
transfer of the Government to the new capital would 
be impracticable. Indeed, the investment of pri- 
vate capital was essential to the advancement of the 
project in its initial stage, for the funds with which 
to prosecute the work of construction were chiefly 
to be derived from the sale of the surplus land 
acquired from the original proprietors. But the 
enterprise altogether lacked the encouragement of 
popular interest or the advantage of popular co- 
operation. The general attitude towards it was 

73 



74 WASHINGTON. 

that of indifference or scepticism. There existed 
a wide-spread conviction that the proposed capital 
would never be established in Washington and ac- 
tive forces opposed the accomplishment of the de- 
sign. This condition prevailed during the entire 
period of preliminary preparation. 

Weld, who was a close and judicious observer, 
writing in 1796, said :" '' N'otwithstanding all that 
has been done at the city, and the large sums of 
money that have been expended, there are numbers 
of people in the United States living to the north 
of the Potomac, particuarly in Philadelphia, who 
are still very adverse to the removal of the seat of 
government hither and are doing all in their powder 
to check the progress of the buildings in the city, 
and to prevent Congress from meeting there at the 
proper time." 

Sufficiently onerous without complication, the 
work of the Commissioners w^as rendered doubly 
arduous by the disputes and dissensions to which 
every transaction of importance gave birth. That 
body was a stonu-center upon which constantly con- 
verged the full force of disturbances innumerable 
and various. They fell out with L'Knfant and with 
Ellicott. They had frequent difficulties with the 
original proprietors and Avith purchasers of city 
lots. These vexed them with questions of boundary 

* Travels throufjli tlie States of North America during the 
years 17no, 1790, 1707. Isaac Weld, junior. 



BREAKING GROUND. 75 

and the locations of public edifices. Their relations 
with the early capitalists were marked by disagree- 
ments and legal contests and their dealings with 
contractors and architects were hardly less dis- 
agreeable. In short, the Commissioners seem to 
have experienced trouble with almost every person 
who was brought into business contact with them. 
As a result the superficial reader of the history of 
the times can hardly fail to gain an impression that 
they were an exacting and a quarrelsome body. A 
little delving below the surface affords ample 
ground for a change of opinion, however. The 
Commissioners had to contend with an exceedingly 
complicated condition of affairs, to withstand rapac- 
ity and chicanery and to treat conflicting interests 
in a spirit of equity. As guardians of the public 
property their duty often compelled them to action 
at variance with the wishes of private owners and 
they naturally created manj^ enemies among the 
speculators who were disappointed in their roseate 
dreams. An impartial investigation of the facts 
must lead to the conclusion that the early Com- 
missioners of the District of Columbia acquitted 
themselves well and honorably in the performance 
of a task which demanded the exercise of extreme 
patience and good judgment and afforded wide op- 
portunity for personal profit by devious methods. 
They made mistakes and were sometimes arbitrary 
in their decisions but, w^hen the circumstances are 



76 WASHINGTON. 

considered, they excite wonder that such failings 
were not more frequently exhibited. 

It was hoped that the serious embarrassment due 
to the lack of funds would be greatly relieved by 
the sale of lots. Hence the urgent pressure upon 
L'Enfant for the completion of the map of the city. 
The agreement with the property holders and sub- 
sequent legislation by the State of Maryland, se- 
cured to the Government five hundred and forty- 
one acres of the most desirable building sites within 
the confines of the capital and six hundred and six 
acres in the streets and avenues. This property, 
which is now probably worth three hundred and 
fifty millions of dollars, was acquired at a cost of 
somewhat less than thirty-seven thousand. 

The public response to the offer of lots in the 
embryo city disappointed alike the expectations of 
the Administration and the original proprietors. 
Only twenty-two lots were disposed of at the first 
sale by auction held during three days of October, 
1791. At the second sale, which took place one 
year later, no more than thirty-four purchases were 
recorded, and but thirty at the third attempt in 
Septemlx^r, l79-'>. The President then authorized 
the Commissioners to dispose of land by private 
sale and thus opened the way to the momentous con- 
tract with Tames Greenleaf. In the nine years, 
1791-99, the Government sold seven thousand lots 
in the City of Washington and six thousand of these 



BREAKING GROUND. 77 

Avere embraced in the agreement with the speculator 
Avhose ill-fated investment gave the much-needed 
impetus to the stagnant affairs of this singular na- 
tional project. 

Numerous schemes for raising money were sug- 
gested and in some instances adopted without suc- 
cess by the harassed Commissioners. One of the 
most fantastic and visionary of the many question- 
able expedients originated with Samuel Blodget, 
who. built a large hotel wdiich he undertook to dis- 
pose of by lottery. His idea, like many of the 
others, purported to have in view the enhancement 
of value of the lots and the attraction of capitalists 
to the city but it does not appear that anyone save 
the promoter benefited by the plan. 

A great deal of interest had been exhibited abroad 
in the plan of the city and the fact may have 
aroused the hope that foreign capital could be at- 
tracted to the spot. This idea probably prompted 
Congress to the enactment of legislation granting to 
aliens the right to hold realty in the District. In 
the exercise of this privilege, Thomas Law, William 
- Duncanson, and others who were beneficially active 
in the upbuilding of the capital, settled in Wash- 
ington. During the period of establishment the 
city was largely indebted to foreigners for its prog- 
ress. Very important portions of the initial work 
were performed by L'Enf ant and -Hallet, French- 
men, by Thornton and Hadfield, Englishmen, and 



78 WASHINGTON. 

by Iloban, the Irishman — to mention but a few. 

In May, 1796, the President induced CongTess 
to pass an act authorizing the Commissioners to 
borrow three hundred thousand dollars. It was 
soon evident, however, that the authority to borrow^ 
did not entail the ability to do so. Capitalists 
could not be persuaded to subscribe to the proposed 
loan but the State of Maryland did, at the urgent 
solicitation of General Washington, lend the Com- 
missioners one-third of the desired amount. The 
straits to which the Commissioners Avere reduced by 
the need of money will account for much in the 
early history of the city which would otherwise be 
incomprehensible. 

The construction of the Ca[)itol and its comple- 
tion in time for the reception of Congress in 1800 
Avas the most urgent necessity imposed upon the 
Commissioners and we find them addressing them- 
selves to the task with such limited facilities as 
they can command. Ground had been broken for 
the foundation of the President's house in October, 
1792, and (he corner-stone of the Capitol was laid 
on the eighteenth day of the following September,' 
but when the monetary stringency makes the Com- 
missioners doubtful of their ability to proceed with 
both buildings, Washington counsels them to sacri- 
fice progress on the former in favor of expedition 
with the lattor. 

Just at this time James Greenleaf arrived in 



BREAKING GROUND. 79 

Washington and a few days after the ceremonies in 
connection with the commencement of the Capitol 
made his great contract with the Commissioners, 
This transaction marked a turning point in the af- 
fairs of the future city. It gave an impetus to the 
operations and attracted the private capital with- 
out the aid of which the requisite buildings could 
never have been erected. The benefits that accrued 
to the city from the speculations of Greenleaf and 
his associates are generally overlooked in the con- 
templation of their disastrous results to the capital- 
ists who staked their all on the success of the ven- 
ture. They believed that a metropolis of large 
dimensions would rapidly spring up from the virgin 
land in which they sank their money and they in- 
fected others with their belief. They converted 
flat stagnation into a lively " boom " wdiich, al- 
though it w^as short-lived, served to carry the proj- 
ect over the first difficult stage in the constructive 
period. 

The Greenleafs of Massachusetts were a notable 
family. William Greenleaf, merchant and High 
Sheriff of Suffolk County, performed the some- 
what hazardous act of reading the Declaration of 
Independence from the balcony of the State House 
in Boston, July 18, 1776. The twelve children 
who survived him were remarkable for their in- 
tellect and culture. James added to these charac- 
teristics an extraordinary aptitude for commercial 



80 WASHINGTON. 

pursuits. At the time tliat Greenleaf embarked in 
the Washington venture, ahhough still short of 
thirty years of age, he had accumulated more than 
a million dollars in mercantile enterprises. 

Greenleaf plunged into this speculation with the 
ap]:>earance of bold recklessness. He assumed enor- 
mous obligations with a readiness that can be ex- 
])lained only by his firm belief in the future. 
Greenleaf was an honest man and one of sound 
judgment. He displaj-ed these qualities in a 
marked degree during his career as a merchant, 
whilst Consul General of the United States in Hol- 
land and in the lifetime of litigation that followed 
the failure of the North American Land Company, 
and other enterprises in which he was associated 
with ^lorris and Nicholson. The Washington ven- 
ture was his one great mistake and in that he had 
for partners men of the widest experience and the 
greatest intellect. They were, however, necessarily 
standing upon unstable ground. During the forma- 
tive period of the nation uncertainty overshadowed 
every project. The government itself was specula- 
tive. In financial and commercial transactions 
there were no empirical data to serve as guides. 
Forecasts rested upon the most slender founda- 
tions and were liable to be overturned by in- 
numorable contingencies entirely beyond the 
range of prevision. At that time, had all our 
pcoj)le ])rosorve(l the conservative caution which 



BREAKING GROUND. 81 

would have accorded with the dictates of wis- 
dom, the infant republic had never shaken off 
its swaddling clothes. Bold enterprise was essen- 
tial to the development of the country and men like 
Greenleaf stimulated it. Their failures should not 
blind us to a sense of their public services. 

The records of the transactions of Greenleaf and 
his associates defy unravelment. If collected they 
would form, j^erhaps, the most intricate and com- 
plicated set of documents in existence. After the 
year 1797, the principals had no clear idea of the 
condition of their affairs, and Morris least of all. 
Cranch, who had been their agent, clear-headed and 
bred to the law as he was, admitted in Chancery 
proceedings that he could not give a lucid state- 
ment of their accounts. Men of standing, nomi- 
nated as trustees and administrators, declined to 
assume charge of such involved interests. Years — 
generations in fact — of litigation grew out of these 
speculations and the courts failed to untangle the 
mass of equities and obligations. Greenleaf, who 
without legal training was a lawyer of great ability, 
succeeded in reducing the chaos of his interests to 
some degree of order and — by dint of nearly forty 
years of legal process — saved from the wreck suf- 
ficient to enable him to pass his later years in com- 
fort. His partners died — one in a debtor's prison 
and the other in secluded poverty. 

It Avould be neither interesting nor practicable to 
6 



82 WASHINGTON. 

present more than a suninaary of Greenleaf's vast 
real estate investments in Washington. Survey- 
ing the ground from the point of view of one who 
believed, with General Washington, that the city 
was destined to become the '' great commercial em- 
porium " of the United States, he decided that the 
small peninsula lying between the Eastern Branch 
and the Potomac embraced the most promising site. 
Business would be attracted, so he thought with just 
anticipation, by the ample anchorage and wharfage 
facilities and the Capitol might be expected to draw 
a residential population to its vicinage. Buzzard's 
Point — or Greenleaf's Point as it was to be more 
euphoniously called thereafter — appeared to offer 
so many advantages over any other part of the city 
area that the speculator was fully justified in se- 
lecting it for the medium of his investment. 

Looking around from an eminence on the point 
of land where the Anacostia merges its entity in 
the Potomac, the sanguine speculator saw^ " Car- 
rolsburg, in it an only mansion, brick and wide, 
on the banks of the Annakastia, the home of the 
founder, Charles Carroll, father of Daniel Carroll, 
of Duddington ; directly across, another point, Geis- 
borough and a landing; farther south on the other 
sbore, wreaths of smoke and the spire of Christ 
Church, aristocratic Alexandria ; on the same side 
and nearer, tlie Custis plantation, Abingdon, and a 
glimpse of the old homestead in the grove; on the 



BREAKING GROUND. 83 

city side of the Potomac, the pretentious manor 
house of the proprietor, Notley Young; somewhat 
farther on, the settlement of Hamburgh, in which 
distinctly the house of little brick from Holland, 
residence of Peter Funk, its founder . . ." 

" And a few years after in financial stress he lets 
go all his holdings in the federal establishment, all 
except this dedicated spot. And in the indentures 
is the reservation: ^Except square 506, square 
next- south of 506 and square next south of the 
square last mentioned ; ' three squares on the bank 
of the Potomac beginning one square south of the 
present Arsenal wall, thence southward. And 
when the stress was still greater he sold to his close 
friend, William Deakins junior, from w^hom he 
could redeem, the two squares northward. And 
w^hen the stress was direst sold the remaining square 
to his wealthy brother-in-law merchant, John Ap- 
pleton with the hope of eventual recovery." * 

A few^ days after his arrival in Washington, 
Greenleaf contracted with the Commissioners to 
purchase three thousand lots and within a few 
months, more than doubled the extent of his invest- 
ment. The public lots numbered slightly more 
than ten thousand and were, of course, equaled by 
those of the original proprietors. Of the former 
Greenleaf secured six thousand and of the latter, 

* Greenleaf and Law in the Federal City. Allen C. Clark, 
Washington, 1901. 



84 WASHINGTON. 

more than twenty-five hundred. Some thirteen 
hundred of these he withheld from the partnership 
agreement and retained individually. The aggre- 
gate price of the property was about seven hundred 
thousand dollars, to be paid in equal annual install- 
ments without interest in the course of seven years. 

The purchaser agreed with the Commissioners to 
build twenty houses a year during the period of pay- 
ment and this obligation must have represented an 
outlay of half a million. In addition to this were 
undertakings of a simihir character entered into with 
Daniel Carroll, of Duddington,* and Xotley Young. 
To these obligations Greenleaf added a promise to 
lend the Commissioners a sum approaching two hun- 
dred thousand dollars for use in public improve- 
ments. Before he was fairly launched in this ven- 
ture Greenleaf had associated with himself in it 
Robert Morris and John Xicholson. 

Kobert Morris is best remembered as the finan- 
cier of the Revolution and as such one of the prin- 
cipal factors in its success. Coming to America 
from England in 1748, at the age of fourteen, he 
found employment in the mercantile house of the 
Willings in Philadelphia. Six years later the firm 
was reorganized as Willing, Morris and Company, 

*Most writers have confused Daniel Carroll, the Com- 
missioner with Daniel Carroll, of Diuklington, one of the 
original proprietors. The former, a man of seventy, was 
tlie uncle of the latter, who was barely of age at this time 
and lived until 1849. 



BREAKING GROUND. 85 

with Thomas Willing and Eobort Morris as part- 
ners. They engaged in the export and import of 
general merchandise and transacted banking busi- 
ness. The concern thrived, especially during the 
war, and at the close of the struggle Robert Morris 
was worth at least one million dollars and his credit 
was so great that his notes passed current where 
those of the United States Government were unac- 
ceptable. He then began a series of speculative in- 
vestments in land of enormous proportions. He 
bought large tracts in New^ Jersey, in Pennsylvania, 
and other States and at one time owned almost all 
of iSTew York lying to the west of Lake Seneca. 

" Morris bought from the waters of the furious 
Genesee to the sluggish Savannah, anywhere, every- 
where, in enormous stretches, whose areas are de- 
scribed in acres, tens of thousands. A century 
passed and now, when a tract in the Carolinas or 
the Virginias is subject of negotiation, the lawyer 
from the metropolis must needs travel through 
primeval forest whose stillness is unbroken save 
by the cawing of the inhabitants of the air and the 
reverberating music of the axe, to the remote little 
brick courthouse, there to ascertain if the title is a 
continuous chain from the original owner — Robert 
Morris." ^ 

It is doubtful whether Morris was ever actually 

* Greenleaf and Law in the Federal City. Allen C. Clark, 
Washington, 1901. 



86 WASHINGTON. 

solvent after he entered upon these speculations. 
He lived in luxury, confidently expecting fabulous 
returns from them. The North American Land 
Company is a typical illustration of the delusive 
basis upon which these expectations were laid. The 
company was formed in 1795 by Morris, Nicholson 
and Greenleaf with thirty thousan 1 shares and three 
million dollars capital. The promoters conveyed 
to the corporation six million acres of land, situated 
in six States, but principally in Georgia, at fifty 
cents per acre. This land was valued by the com- 
pany at one hundred pounds sterling per acre and 
the public was invited to buy it with the assurance 
that : " The proprietor of back lands gives him- 
self no other trouble about them than to pay the 
taxes, which are inconsiderable. As Nature left 
,them, so will they lie till circumstances give them 
value. The proprietor is then songjit out by the 
settler who has chanced to pitch u]ion them, or who 
has made any improvement thereon, and receives 
from him a price which fully repays his original 
advance with great interest.'^ 

Gradually, but with increasing pressure, embar- 
rassments march upon the unfortunate ^lorris. 
The Washington speculation, which he embnrks 
upon with such zestful enthusiasm, seriously in- 
creases his difficulties but is not the cause of his 
ruin as has so frequently l>een stated. In his de- 



BKEAKING GKOUND. 87 

spair and vexation, cooped Avitliin prison walls, he 
writes as follows : 

'' James Greenleaf. This is an unsettled ac- 
count, and I suppose ever will be. Here com- 
menced the ruin which has killed poor I^icholson, 
and brought me to the necessity of giving an account 
of my affairs." But in his petition in bankruptcy, 
Morris traces his insolvency to the failure of two 
British houses which involved him in a loss of six 
hundred thousand dollars. This statement he re- 
peats more than once in his letters. Xor does 
Morris at any time accuse Greenleaf of the '^ dis- 
honesty and rascality " w-ith which some writers 
unwarrantably charge him. 

John Nicholson was the third of this remarkable 
trio of financiers. That he was a man of extraor- 
dinary ability may safely be inferred from the, 
fact that he was appointed to the position of Comp- 
troller General of the finances of the Common- 
wealth of Pennsylvania when no more than twenty- 
two years of age. He possessed a marvelous capac- 
ity for mastering details and, perhaps, exercised it 
in an unwdse degree. Such, at any rate, was the 
opinion of Morris expressed in one of his letters : 

" I know that you are never idle, it is not in your 
nature to be so, but I think you are too often em- 
ployed in doing what ought to be done by others, 
correct this error and you w^ill accomplish more real 



88 WASHINGTON. 

business in a short time than any other man living." 
A close friendship existed between these, two 
partners in business and companions in misfortune. 
The younger man — Nicholson could hardly 
have been more than forty years of age when he 
died — exercised a strange influence over the other 
and more than once in important matters induced 
him to act against his better judgment. Thus 
against Morris's urgent pleadings Nicholson entered 
upon the newspaper Avar against Greenleaf and 
eventually persuaded Morris to join in it. This 
was after Greenleaf had retired from the tripartite 
venture and the result of the publicity — for '^ mas- 
ter Jemmy " gave good measure in retaliation — 
was disastrous to the interests of the Pennsylva- 
nians. Morris refers to the matter in these terms : 
'^ With the purest intentions he unfortunately 
vlaid a train that ended as it hath done. I here say 
laid the train, because there are living witnesses 
that I opposed as soon as I knew it, although from 
infatuation, madness or weakness, I gave away 
afterwards." 

Nicholson, like Morris, speculated enormously 
in land. It is ofBcially recorded that at one time 
he had indisputable title to one-seventh of the area 
of the State of Pennsylvania and doubtful interest 
in much more. His business association with Mor- 
ris commenced in 1793 a few months before they 
joined Greenleaf in his Washington investment. 



BKEAKING GROUND. 8d 

A few days after the completion of Greenleaf's 
agreement with the Commissioners to purchase 
three thousand lots, President Washington wrote to 
his confidential secretary and friend, Colonel To- 
bias Lear: 

^' You will learn from Mr. Greenleaf that he has 
dipped deeply in the concerns of the Federal city, — 
I think he has done so on very advantageous terms 
for himself, and I am pleased with it notwithstand- 
ing on public ground ; as it may give facility to the 
operations at that place, at the same time that it is 
embarking him and his friends in a measure which, 
although it could not well fail under any circum- 
stances that are likely to happen, may be consid- 
erably promoted by men of Spirit with large 
Capitals.'' 

When a few months later Greenleaf made his 
second contract on a similar scale. General Wash- 
ington expresses his disapproval. The first pur- 
chase, he says in a letter to Daniel Carroll, w^as de- 
sirable because at the time affairs " seemed to be 
in a stagnant state, and something was necessary 
in order to put the wheels in motion again." But 
since then Greenleaf, who bought his lots for eighty 
dollars a piece has sold a large number to " a gen- 
tleman from England " at nearly three hundred 
dollars per lot. The President is impressed with 
the idea that the speculator is " laying the founda- 
tion of immense profit to himself " and his asso- 



90 WASHINGTON. 

ciates, and he inquires : '' Will it not be asked, 
why are speculators to pocket so much money ? 
Are not the Commissioners as competent to make 
bargains ? " 

Thus at the outset there prevailed in the minds 
of all concerned an idea that Greenleaf and his 
partners had got the better of the bargain in their 
purchases and there was evidenced a disposition 
to hold them to the letter of their contracts with 
what was sometimes unnecessary severity. This 
was the attitude of the private owners as well as 
the proprietors and Daniel Carroll, of Dudding- 
ton, in particular appears to have regretted the sale 
he made. 

The most important of the early building opera- 
tions was the erection of ^he " "Jwenty Buildings " 
which were in fact thirty in number. These were 
put up in accordance with a contract between Green- 
leaf and Daniel Carroll, of Duddington, which re- 
quired that they should be finislied on or before the 
twenty-sixth day of September, 1706. But pre- 
vious to this date Greenleaf, findiug that he could 
not agree with Nicholson, withdrew from the part- 
nership, offering to buy or sell, as Morris records, 
adding the opinion that the propositi^^n was very 
creditable to liim. The fuflillment of this and other 
obligations incurred by Greenleaf devolved, there- 
fore, upon Morris and Nicholson and the effort 



BREAKING GROUND. 91 

strained their resources to the utmost. In July, 
1795, Morris found cash, owing mainly to the 
monetary stringency in Europe, ^' so cursedly scarce 
that nothing will command it.'^ Labor, too, was 
difficult to engage and it began to look as though the 
^' Twenty Buildings " could not be completed in 
contract time. 

Early in the following year Cranch in his ca- 
pacity of agent for the speculators, offered Carroll 
eight thousand dollars in notes of the Bank of the 
United States in consideration of extending the 
building contract one year. This Carroll flatly re- 
fused to do on any condition and thus affords cor- 
roboration of the charge that he was extremely 
obstinate and unconciliatory and thereby impeded 
the development of the section in which his prop- 
erty lay. 

The builders bent themselves to the task with all 
their energy and accomplished it, though at oner- 
ous cost. Fifteen of the structures were under 
cover three days before date; the other fifteen 
hardly three hours before the expiration of the 
contract term, the implacable master of Dudding- 
ton viewing the feverish work of the laborers with 
a grim determination to enforce his rights to the 
ultimate letter of the bond. It was a great occa- 
sion, for, according to the Gazette of the proximate 
date, " The above buildings are the greatest effect 



92 WASHINGTON. 

of private enterprise of any in the city, and for 
the time in which they were building, w^e believe the 
greatest in the United States." 

A barbecue was held upon the spot and attended 
by all the " first citizens " of the infant capital. 
Among the newcomers who had thrown in their 
fortunes with the Federal City were William 
Cranch, the young wiseacre, skilled in booklore and 
cunning in business ; Thomas Law, the East Indian 
^' Nabob," and his three young sons ; Clotworthy 
Stephenson, military man — as were all save 
cripples in those days — and practical builder ; 
Benjamin More, editor of the Washington (jazctte, 
sanguine and inquisitive; William Tunnicliffe, 
tavern-keeper; Xicholas King, surveyor; and Fred- 
erick May, physician. 

For several years the '' Twenty Buildings " rep- 
resented the chief private building operation in the 
District and long after it became apparent that 
Greenleaf's point would not become, within cal- 
culable time, the busy and populous center that the 
pioneer promoters had pictured, the h(»uses stood in 
various stages of decay, aifording point to the dis- 
paraging remarks of the native sceptic and the for- 
eign cynic. Morris and Nicholson were building 
at many other points, completing structures com- 
menced by Greenleaf in couf<n'mity with the agree- 
ment with the Connnissioners. They* were ex- 
amples of good, honest work and excellent material 



BREAKING GROUND. 93 

— houses such as the latter day builder never pro- 
duces. Most of them were standing twenty-five 
years ago and many of them are now, their bricks 
— ■ which came from the yard of Daniel Carroll, of 
Duddinglon — in a wonderful state of preserva- 
tion. Wheat Row, on Fourth street between N and 
O streets southwest, is a notable illustration. It 
was the first and is the oldest block in the city. 

Greenleaf began the construction of the historic 
^' Six Buildings '' on Pennsylvania Avenue between 
Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets northwest. 
Isaac Polock purchased the property from Morris 
and Nicholson and completed the houses. Among 
the tenants prior to the removal of the Govern- 
ment, were John Francis Mercer, Captain Elisha 
O. Williams and Doctor Dinsmore. On the north 
side of the avenue beginning at Nineteenth street, 
General Stewart and Major More erected the 
'' Seven Buildings," one of which — that upon the 
corner — served as the Executive Mansion after 
the despoilment of the White House by the British. 
Another contained the State Department in 1800- 
. 1801 and housed John Marshall and James Madi- 
son. 

Following the failure of the great contractors, 
their property was allowed to deteriorate and much 
of their labor went for nought. Morris writes from 
prison : 

'' On some of those lots " — he doubtless meant 



94 WASHINGTON. 

squares — '^ there were erected between forty and 
fifty brick houses, some of which were finished and 
others nearly so; but many of them have suffered 
great damage by neglect, pillage, etc., so as to be 
now in a most ruinous situation. There Avere also 
several frame buildings, some of which were sold, 
others pulled to pieces and plundered, etc." 

Despite the restraining effect of the ill-advised 
early building regulati(ms, which required brick 
and considerable dimensions, many individuals 
erected mansions at scattered points and a few ef- 
fected extensive building operations. Of these 
Thomas Law was the most notable. Not only was 
his achievement in the direction of the improve- 
ment of the city important, but he was on other 
accounts one of the most remarkable men connected 
with the capital in its early years. 

Thomas Law was the son of that Bishop of Car- 
lisle to whom, as his patron, Paley dedicated his 
works. It was a highly distinguished family. 
Two of the sons became bishops of the Church of 
England ; another, the Edward Law, who success- 
fully defended Warren Hastings in his celebrated 
impeachment trial, was created Lord Chief- Justice 
of England and Baron Ellenborough. Thomas, 
following the example of several relatives, sought 
fortune in the service of the East India Company. 
In his own account of his life," he says: 

* A reply to certain insinuations published as an article in 



BREAKING GROUND. 95 

" I arrived in Bengal at the age of seventeen," 
(in the year 1TT3), '' in the capacity of writer, an 
office which is introductory to employment in the 
civil service of the East India Company. After 
serving the usual term of noviciate in this station 
I successively passed through the various grades of 
promotion until I Avas chosen member of the Rev- 
enue Board at Hoagley (Ilughli). I was next ap- 
pointed judge at Patna ; but this office, after hold- 
ing it -for a short time, I thought proper to resign. 
At the age of twenty-seven I attained promotion 
to the collectorship of Bahar." 

The many inexcusable inaccuracies that have 
been published with reference to Thomas Law are 
apparently traceable to the fact that writers have 
accepted, without availing themselves of the easy 
and patent sources of investigation, the testimony 
of that most unreliable of authors, Charles William 
Janson.* There is in the following statement of 
" The Stranger " hardly a modicum of truth, yet 
it has been repeated, time and again, with consis- 
tent embellishments. 

" '^ Early in life Mr. LaAV went to the East Indies 
under the patronage of Mr. Hastings, obtained 
through the interest of the bishop. Mr. Law re- 
turned to Europe wdth, or soon after, his patron. 



the Fifty-eighth Number of the Quarterly Review. Thomas 
Law, Washington, 1824. 

* The stranger in America, Charles William Janson. 



90 WASHINGTON. 

During the trial it was thought advisable that the 
subject of these anecdotes should retire to America." 

Later writers have gone farther than this. By 
more than one it is stated that Law had been private 
secretary to Warren Hastings and that he fled to 
Aiiicrica in defiance of a summons to appear as a 
witness at the trial. The inference that he was 
ni»t without taint is unavoidable. 

It is certain that Law was never secretary to 
Hastings, nor connected with him in any confi- 
dential capacity. He had few direct official deal- 
ings with the Governor-CJeneral and singularly lit- 
tle intercourse of any kind with him. That he did 
not leave England under a cloud or in contempt of 
authority seems to be shown by the fact that some 
years later he recovered a large sum of money from 
the East India Company by legal process. In the 
preface to a lx)ok relating to the '^ Resources of 
Bengal,'* which was ])ublished in London, Law says: 
'' In 171>1 sickness compelled me to relinquish my 
station and since my arrival in England/' etc. He 
was in the capital at the time that the prosecution 
was presenting its case (the defense opened in Feb- 
ruary, 1702"). Mild Ills nitcndance at the trial might 
easily have Ix'cn assured. 

The antecedents and character of Thomas Law 
derive some importance from the facts that he was 
connected with George Washington by marriage, 
contributed no little towards the iinj^rovement of 



BREAKING GEOUND. 97 

the capital, and left descendants who cherish a just 
pride in the memory of their first American ances- 
tor. Law's talents were of a very high order, else 
he would not have been intrusted, when hardly more 
than a youth, with the virtual rulership over two 
million souls. William Duane, one of the several 
Anglo-Indians who settled in Washington at this 
period, and the editor of the Aurora writes thus 
of him : 

'^ We have known Mr. Law now more than thirty 
years. We knew him when he was inferior to no 
man in eminence and in power, the third or fourth 
in degree in a great empire; and this was at a 
time, too, when by his own generous efforts, pursued 
with zeal and talent that commanded general ad- 
miration and esteem, he brought about a revolution, 
the influence of which now^ extends to one hundred 
and twenty millions of people, as great in its moral 
and political influence as the extinction of the 
feudal system." 

This is potent testimony though tinged with ex- 
aggeration. Law was not quite as exalted '' in emi- 
nence and power " as the enthusiastic writer states ; 
nor were the blessings of the Morcurrery system of 
land tenure quite so all-pervading as he seems to 
have believed. Furthermore, we can not credit 
Law, as some writers have done, with the origina- 
tion and establishment of the Permanent Settlement 
without robbing Sir John Shore (afterAvards Lord 
7 



98 WASHINGTON. 

Ti'igiiiiKJUthj nf liis ju.st claim tu that distinction. 
The Murcurrery, ur l*crnianent Settlement, ^vas 
mooted when Law was an infant and put into effect 
in 171)3. However, divested of all doubtful quali- 
fications for respect and admiration, the widower 
who married Klizabeth Parke C'ustis is revealed to 
us a gentleman of the highest character and of un- 
common al)ility. 

Law came to America in the summer of 1T1J4, 
induced to leave his native country, as he declares, 
by tlie unjust treatment of the Company he had 
served with fidelity, and by disapprobation of the 
war with France. He does not appear to have been 
at all moved by the republican sentiments with 
which he has been credited, nor is it probable that 
such feelings would actuate a man who, as Twining 
states, " had been accustomed to the . . 
splendor and consequence of a prince.'' However 
that may be, he determined to make his home on 
this side of the Atlantic and, coming under tbe 
seductive spell of Greenleaf's eloquence, soon in- 
vested his fortune of fifty thousand pounds in the 
real estate of the Federal City. 

Law (juickly became one of the most enthusiastic 
promoters of the capital enterprise. Before he had 
seen the ground he secured an option on a great 
number of scpuires from James Greenleaf, and 
when he has been but a few months in the country, 
we find him writing from his rented mansion in 



BREAKING GROUND. 99 

New York, on lower Broadway near the Battery: 

^' I shall certainly go to Washington City and my 
heart and mind are full of it — you may say that 
I had rather sell my horses or books or any thing 
rather than part with a foot at present of Washing- 
ton City." 

And so in February of the following year he 
comes to tlie site of the future metropolis and far 
from being dismayed by the dreary aspect of the 
place, he plunges with increased enthusiasm into 
building projects. Law's was the kind of tempera- 
ment that impels a man to assault with fervor and 
optimistic zeal any task to which he may put his 
hand. 

He was married a little more than a year after 
his arrival and Claypoole's American Daily Adver- 
tiser, Philadelphia, March 28, 1796, announces: 

'^ On the 20th instant at the seat of David 
Stuart, Esq., Thomas Law, youngest son of the late 
Bishop of Carlisle, to Miss Custis, granddaughter 
of the Lady of the President of the United States." 

Pending the completion of the mansion on N'ew 
Jersey Avenue, the young couple — Law was exact- 
ly forty and carried his age well — lease a commo- 
dious house at the northeast corner of Sixth and N" 
Streets Southwest, from William Cranch and set 
up an establishment which for years was the social 
center of the infant city. The residence on New 
Jersey Avenue, which stood on part of the ground 



100 WASHINGTON. 

iiuw occupied by the Vanium,^ frequently sheltered 
distinguished guests. General and !Mrs. Washing- 
ton were habitual visitors. Here the Laws enter- 
tained Louis Philii)pe and his brothers, and in fact 
every notable stranger who came to Washington. 
TIk y lived " in great splendor," as Oliver Walcott 
informs his wife, and were the acknowledged lead- 
ers of society in the ca])ital. 

it was probably Law who in<]uccd General Wash- 
ington to invest in city property, in order '' that 
the j)ublic might have encouragement to build.'' 
At any rate, an entry made in the President's diary 
at this period relates that he '^ dined at Mr. Law's. 
Examined in company with the Comrs. some of 
the I>)ts in the Vicinity of the Capitol and fixed 
u})on No. 10 in G34 to build on." 

Law entertained the hope of inducing a consid- 
erable colony of Anglo-Indians to settle in Wash- 
ington. Besides himself, there were from India, 
James Barry, William Duneanson, William Duane, 
James Bay, and others. Twining, who visited Law 
shortly after his marriage, refers to this project: 

"One anticij)ation in which he indulged, with 
great confidence and satisfaction, was that other 
East-Indians would join him; and he hoped, I 
was sorry to see, that I might return to Bengal with 
impressions tending to encourage this migration. 
As we stood nne ev(Miing on the bank of the river 

• Tlu> oiWcv annex of the Cajiitol now covers tlie spot. 



BKEAKING GKOUND. 101 

before his door, he said : ' Here I Avill make a 
terrace, and we will sit and smoke our hookahs.' " 

Weld was in the city during the year 1795, just 
before Law began his extensive building opera- 
tions, and thus records his observations : 

'' The private houses are all plain buildings ; 
most of them have been built on speculation, and 
are still empty. The greatest number at any one 
place, is at Green Leafs Point, on the main river 
just above the entrance of the eastern branch. 
This spot has been looked upon by many as the 
most convenient one for trade ; but others prefer 
the shore of the eastern branch, on account of the 
superiority of the harbour and the great depth of 
water near the shore. There are several other 
favorite situations, the choice of any one of which 
is mere matter of speculation at present. Some 
build near the capitol, as the most convenient place 
for the residence of members of congress, some 
near the president's house ; others again prefer the 
west end of the city, in the neighbourhood of George 
Town, thinking that as trade is already established 
in that place, it must be from thence that it will 
extend into the city." 

Law shared Greenleaf's opinion that the Point 
was the most favorable locality and in the spring 
of 1796 began building on both sides of Xew Jer- 
sey Avenue from the Capitol south to the Potomac. 
His investment was extended beyond his indi- 



102 WASHINGTON. 

vi.liKil opcrMti(.iis l)_v loans iiiado to others for the 
jdirix'sc of ])r(>s(*ciitiiii2; improvements. In later 
chaneery ])n.f('(Mliniis his interests are scheduled 
thus: 

Survey, Measurement and Valuation of 
the Brick Ihiihlings erected on the 
property of Thomas Law, Esq., l)y 
himself and Otlicr Purchasers $211,637 

Framed W 1 r.uildinos 33,218 



$244,855 



William Duncanson, Law's fellow-countryman 
and liis f('ll(>\v-])asson2;er from England, invested 
his iiind('<t fnriinu' in Washington real estate and 
huih a nian<inii which, with the grounds, occupied 
I lie en I ire <(iuar(" s7r>, hounded hy South Carolina 
Avenue, 1), Sixili and Seventh Streets southeast. 
'I'he propei'ty is now '* The ^[aples," the home of 
Mr-. I'lmily Edson l>riggs. Except that wings 
ha\(' hecn added to the east and west flanks of the 
liouse, there is ii<> cliange in ihe place. 

Willi what sanguine anticipations these men en- 
tei-(d into tlie venture may he gathered from Dun- 
canson's otTer to give haw tliree hundred and 
seventy-iiv<' dollars a ])i<'ce for a nunihcr of h^ts 
which the latter had purchased for two hnndred and 
fifty dollars each. A serious quarrel resulted from 



BREAKING GROUND. 103 

Law's failure to stand to the bargain. But in 1800, 
Duncanson was obliged to abandon his mansion for 
a humble home on the banks of the river, built on 
a single lot in square 300. Here he ended his days. 

Duncanson's fate was, perhaps, more pitiable than 
that of any other among the speculators. Every- 
thing went wrong with him — land speculations 
and business ventures alike. He executed mort- 
gages of real estate, then of chattels, down to his 
silverware, pictures, swords and pistols. His last 
years were passed in extreme poverty. 

Presently Law became disgusted with many as- 
pects of the situation and began to see his '' pleas- 
ing prospects vanish." He wrote to Greenleaf bit- 
terly complaining of the Commissioners, Avho failed 
to realize that " the City should branch out from 
the proper root, the Eastern Branch." He de- 
manded some relaxation of the terms of his exten- 
sive purchase and declares: "If not — like an 
hunted Boar I will seat myself at the end of the 
New Jersey Avenue, relinquish all my plans of pro- 
motions, and foam and goar until I fall under 
chagrin." 

Under this hyperbole is real vexation. Never- 
theless, he proceeds with his plans and in the end, 
alone of the early heavy investors, comes out whole. 
Greenleaf arranged for him a mortgage wdiich, 
when the crash came, enabled him to recover his 
advance in full, whilst none of the other creditors 



104 WASHINGTON. 

roccivcd iii(»rc than ii .small proportion of their 
clniiiis ii<;aiiist the syndicate. 

It is (litticnlt to acqnit Janson of deliberate false- 
li.M.d in the statement that J.aw was '' nnder the 
niurtifvini]^ circumstance of daily witnessing whole 
rows of the shells of his houses falling to pieces." 
Xo more substantial structures than those erected 
bv the '' nabob " existed in the city at that time and 
as tliev stand tonlay they show no signs of ^' falling 
to pieces." The most notable is the block at the 
corner of Xew Jersey Avenue and C Street south- 
east, which was built in 1706. It was here that 
Conrad and IMunn ^'opened houses of entertain- 
ment ■ ■ — the building originally constituted three 
resi<lences — and accommodated Jefferson, Gal- 
la tin, and other celebrities. Miss Heyer, Mrs. 
Kapinc and Mr. ^IcTeod later occupied them as 
boarding houses. Then they became the Law 
House, subsequently the offices of the Coast Survey, 
an<l again a hotel under the name of the Vartmm. 

The raveled thread of this story of speculation 
leads us back to Philadelphia, and to the dismal 
debtor's ]»rison in Prune Street, There Ave find the 
anient Nicholson stretched upon his deathbed 
which Morris, knowing his temperament, foresaw 
wlien he wrote: ''You must not go to Prune 
Street. . . . If the key is once turned on you 
by the hand under any authority but your own, 
God only knows when tliat door shall be open to 



BEEAKIXG GEOUND. 105 

you; perhaps never, until von shall be insensible 
to the affairs of the world." In the little garden 
on one side of the building we see, as did Wood, 
the actor and luckless inmate, the burh^ figure of 
the man who made the Revohition practicable pac- 
ing stolidly to and fro '' and dropping from his 
hand, at a given spot, a pebble in each round, until 
a certain number which he had was exhausted." 
On the other side of the prison, the irrepressible 
Greenleaf dashes up and down the short and nar- 
row walk upon a spirited horse and " it was quite 
amusing to observe with what skill habit had en- 
abled him to make those swift evolutions, within so 
very limited a space." 

One can not fail to be moved to pity at the con- 
templation of the fates of these three giants. Mor- 
ris, ^N'icholson and Greenleaf were unquestionably 
honest. Each was a man of extraordinary parts, 
but they were dreamers, nevertheless. Men of 
broad minds and generous impulses, they were ever 
prone to be over-sanguine and overbold. Probably 
Morris voiced the sentiments of his associates when, 
in response to General Washington's warning, he 
said for himself: ^' I can never do things in the 
small; I must be either a man or a mouse." Truly 
there was nothing small about either of them. 
Concessions were made with princely open-handed- 
ness ; contracts were waived or modified with a 
magnanimous disregard for self-interest; obliga- 



lOG WASHIXGTOX. 

tiuiis were as^^iinied with regal recklessness. They 
played the game of finance like honorable, if de- 
luded gentlemen, and went to earth retaining the 
love of their friends, most of whom were their cred- 
itors. 



CHAPTEE V. 

THE GOVERNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 

The City of Washington presents the first in- 
stance in history — as Gladstone remarked — of 
the establishment of a national capital by legis- 
lative enactment. The circumstance was further 
unique in the constitutional conference on Con- 
gress of '^ the right of soil and exclusive . » . 
jurisdiction '' and the resultant disfranchisement 
of the inhabitants of the selected site. These pe- 
culiar conditions, designed to afford the Govern- 
ment a seat where its authority should be supreme 
and undivided, w^ere generally deemed necessary 
after the experience of the Congress of 1788. That 
body, threatened by mutinous troops of the Penn- 
sylvania line, moved to Princeton in June. A few 
months later a memorial was addressed to the Con- 
gress by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, 
inviting it to return to Philadelphia. The propo- 
sition contemplated the establishment of a perma- 
nent seat of government in or near Philadelphia 
and, in view of the recent occurrence, the State 
legislature inquired what jurisdiction Congress 

107 



108 WASHINGTON. 

would eoiisidcr it necessary to exercise over the site 
it mi^lit select. This was the first public utterance 
on the subject ])nt during the succeeding years of 
discussion relating to the selection of a national 
capital the matter of exclusive legislation was kept 
III \I('W and the convention that framed the Consti- 
tution ])rovid('d for it in that document."^ 

The effect of this arrangement upon the political 
rii:lit- (ti the inhabitants of the federal territory 
docv not apjiear to have created any concern if, 
iinl('(Ml, it was given any serious consideration. 
And yet it involved a ]n'inciple of the highest im- 
jioi-tancc, no less, in fact, than the basic cause of 
the revolt of the colonies. 

During the ten years of ])reparatory period pre- 
ccfling the settlement of the Government in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, that tei-ritorv remained subject 
to the legislation and jurisdiction of the States of 
Virginia and ^larvland and its inhabitants enjoyed 
all the pri\i leges of citizens of those States, but 
after the assum])tion by Congress of the exclusive 
powers vested in it, the residents of the District 

•Arliolo I. spction VIH, pnra^Ma)*!! 17. of llio Constitution 
of the I'nited Stales, provides tliat : 
" Tlu' ("on^rrcss sJiall liav*^ power — 

To exercise exolu-sivi' le;jislat ion. in all cases whatsoever, 
over such district (not exeeetlinji t(»n miles square) as may, 
by ees.sion of particular States, and the acceptance of Coii- 
j;ress. lieconie the seat of tlie fjovernnient of the United 
States." 



THE GOVEKNMENT TAKES POSSESSION 109 

of Columbia occupied the anomalous position of 
citizens of the United States but not of any par- 
ticular State. They could have no direct repre- 
sentation in the government, no voice in national 
affairs, nor even any part in local administration 
unless by favor of Congress. 

It was essentially a period of practical endeavor, 
when men's minds were applied to the adjustment 
of conditions, in the process of which principles 
and theories w^ere frequently sacrificed to the 
exigencies of the moment. The prime and urgent 
consideration was the securing to the national legis- 
lators freedom from interference and undue influ- 
ence. The political status of a few thousand of 
the people was comparatively a matter of no im- 
portance. It was probably believed that Congress 
would devise some satisfactory solution of the diffi- 
culty in good time and no doubt constant and im- 
mediate contact with the legislators was deemed 
ample compensation for the loss of representation. 
The persons most concerned — the inhabitants of 
the District do not seem to have been greatly 
agitated about the matter. Some newspaper con- 
troversy was excited and a public meeting of the 
citizens took place in January, 1801, which re- 
sulted in a memorial to Congress setting forth that 
in the event of its exercising its full powers over 
the District ^' we shall be completely disfranchised 
in respect to the national government, while we re- 



no WASHINGTON. 

tain no security for participating in the formation 
of even the most minute local regulations by which 
Ave are to be affected. We shall be reduced to that 
deprecated condition of which Ave pathetically com- 
j)hnned in our charges against Great Britain, of 
being taxed without representation." There is 
reason to believe, however, that the question, Avhich 
was made a party issue by the Federalists and Re- 
publicans, was not considered of serious moment by 
the majority of the people. They were satisfied to 
intrust their personal and property interests to 
Congress. Moreover, the permanency of the capi- 
tal — a matter of grave doubt at the time — Avas of 
vital consequence to them and they Avere uuAvilling 
t(j foster any complication that might impair the 
prospect of it. 

After considerable discussion in Congress and a 
futile effort by tlie Federalist party to give the Dis- 
trict a territorial form of gOA'ernment, the law 
of February 21, 1801, Avas passed. This enact- 
ment terminated the authority of the States of Vir- 
ijinia and Maryhmd over the District but provided 
for the continuance of the existing laws tliat had 
Ix'cn derived from those conmionwealths. The nm- 
nicipal governments of GeorgetoAvn and Alex- 
andria were left undisturbed. United States 
jufliri^s and ofliccrs were provided for and — in the 
following year — the City of Washington Avas 
granted a corporate charter with limited poAvers, 



THE GOVERNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. Ill 

tlie executive officials being appointed by tbe Presi- 
dent. 

Authorized by Congress to anticipate the statu- 
tory date for the transfer of the Government to 
Washington by six months, President Adams issued 
an order to '' the several heads of departments to 
take the most prudent and economical arrangements 
for the removal of the public offices, clerks, and 
papers, according to their best judgment, as soon 
as may be convenient, in such manner that the 
public offices maj be opened in the City of Wash- 
ington for the dispatch of business by the 15th of 
June." The President himself left Philadelphia 
May 27, 1800, and made a leisurely and circuitous 
journey to the capital by way of Lancaster and 
Fredericktown. He arrived June 3, and accord- 
ing to The Centinel of Liberty, was met at the 
boundary line of the District by '^ a large crowd 
of respectable citizens on horseback " and escorted 
to the Union Tavern, Georgetown. Here he re- 
mained until June 14, when all the executive offices 
had been transferred to Washington, and then set 
out for his home at Quincy, Massachusetts. 

An extraordinary number of myths cling like 
barnacles to the history of the City of Washington 
and the remarkable readiness w^ith which the least 
substantial are repeated by successive writers be- 
trays an inexcusable lack of investigation. Nearly 
every published account of the removal of the Gov- 



112 WASHINGTON. 

cniiiifiit describes the transfer of the official effects 
in a few small boxes carried by a single vessel. A 
writer in Harper's ^Magazine some years ago states: 
" The oldest inhabitant assures me that a single 
j)acket sloop brought all the office furniture of the 
Departments besides seven large boxes and four or 
five smaller ones Avhich contained the archives of 
the Government. Fifty-four persons, comprising 
the President, Secretaries, and clerical force, chose 
their own methods of conveyance." 

The absurdity of this statement is apparent when 
we consider that in addition to the accumulated 
records of its business during ten years of exist- 
ence, the Government possessed a great mass of 
material relating to the period of the Confederacy 
and the Revolutionary War, as well as a quantity 
of State papers, not to mention the furniture of 
six Departments. There is, however, ample evi- 
dence tliat the transfer of the Government was by 
n<i means the trivial undertaking that it is so fre- 
quently represented to have been. 

Christian Ilines, who witnessed the arrival of the 
Government's effects in Washington and took part 
ill the carriage of them to their various destina- 
tions, refers thus to the circumstance in his Recol- 
Ircfioiis: * 



* " Rally Recollect ioni=i of Wasjhintjton Citv." Christian 
llitirs. Washington, 1860. 



THE GOVERNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 113 

"About this time (ISOO) the seat of govern- 
ment was removed from Philadelphia to Washing- 
ton City. The vessels in which were brought the 
furniture, etc., landed and discharged their cargoes 
at Lear's wharf, and as the vessels were unladen 
their contents were carried away to the War and 
Treasury offices, the only two that were built at 
the time. Some of the furniture was stored away 
in the stone warehouse and afterwards taken away 
in wagons, it being too bulky to remove in carts. 
Wagons were rather scarce in Washington then, 
and our cart was engaged with others in removing 
the boxes of books, papers, etc. I still remember 
that many of the boxes were marked ^ Joseph 
Nourse, Kegistrar.' " The " many boxes " ad- 
dressed to the Registrar of the Treasury could 
have been but a small proportion of the whole. 

Perhaps official testimony on the point Avould be 
more to the purpose. The work of moving the 
property of the Government was intrusted to Israel 
Whelan, Purveyor of Public Supplies, who made 
the following statement of expenditure. 

" Account of Israel Whelan. By amount of his 

expenditures from the 5th of June, 1800, to the 9th 

of February, 1801, for the wagons and charter hire 

of vessels employed in the transportation of the 

President's furniture and the records and furniture 

of the public offices from Philadelphia to the city 
8 



114 WASHINGTON. 

of \VasIiiii<it<»ii, incliidiiig various payments for car- 
penter work, porterage, and insurance, with his 
commission at '2^[> per cent, $15,21)0.23." 

Assistant Postmaster-General Abraham Bradley, 
Jr., r('|>«.riiiii:- his ai'rival to the head of the Depart- 
ment, Secretary JIahersham, who was aljsent in 
Georgia, says: "it took us a week to })re})are to 
move, load, etc., and it will take another week to 
get our thlujis in •»rder." 

Tile cost of transporting the personnel of the 
(Jovernment was $o2,872.o4. The actual expenses 
iiicni'i-ed hy every employee in moving aud the 
travelini:- expenses of himself and family were 
made a pul)lic charge. The following bill was 
rendere<l hy oii(» John Little, a clerk in the Treas- 
ury, and paid without protest. 

I''nr the following expenses attending the removal 
of Iiiiiix'lf and family, consisting of nine persons, 
from the city of Philadelphia to the city of Wash- 
ington : 

For expenses actually iiu'urred in October, 
17'.»".», f(»r procuring me a house in the 
city of Washington $ 30.00 

Carpenter^'? bill for nuddng of boxes and 
cases for furniture, inchuling boards, 
nail-, and })aeking of same 96.00 

Paid I. In-ine f(»r the hire ("f a carriage 
for the removal of self and family, nine 



THE GOVEKNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 115 

in nuniber, from the city of Philadelphia 

to Washington 100 . 00 

Expenses on the road, six days 72.00 

Paid D. Cochran for hauling furniture 

from Lear's store to my house 7 . 00 

For board after our arrival in Washing- 
ton until the house was put in order to 
receive us 30 . 00 

My official duty compelling me to remain in 
Philadelphia till the 1st of July, in or- 
der to complete the dividends for the 
payment of interest, I charge for board 
of self and family in Philadelphia after 
the shipment of my furniture until that 
day, deducting the difference of board- 
ing my family and what it would have 
cost me in housekeeping 30 .00 

During the hurry generally attending a re- 
moval many incidental expenses occurred 
of which I kept no account. The dam- 
age occasioned by the removal of my fur- 
niture was considerable, which with 
cooperage, porterage from my house in 
Philadelphia to the wharf, and other 
necessary expenses not enumerated 
would, upon a moderate computation, 
amount to 80.00 



Total $445.00 



116 WASHINGTON. 

]ln\v Mr. Little contrived tu construct such an 
explicit account without introducing cents into it is 
a matter for wonder. Apart from his own admis- 
sion, one would never have suspected him of being 
affected by ^^ the hiirrv generally attending a re- 
moval," seeing that he took six days to perform a 
journey which the regular stage coach accomplished 
in thirty-three hours. 

The i)ersonal accounts of the heads of Depart- 
ments incurred in moving ranged from $338, paid 
to Attorney-General Charles Lee, to $729, received 
by Pjcnjamin Stoddert, the Secretary of the Xavy. 

It is very certain that the personnel of the Gov- 
ernment at this time greatly exceeded ^' fifty-four 
persons." The Blue Book of the year 1792 — the 
first printed — shows one hundred and thirty-six 
employees in the Departments, exclusive of the 
heads. The Xavy Department had not then been 
created and the General Post Office made no re- 
turns. The next Blue Book was issued in Janu- 
ary, 1.^02, and enumerated the employees of the 
Government during the first year in Washington as 
follows: Treasurs' Department, 75; War Depart- 
ment, 17: Xavy Department, 16; Post Office De- 
partment, 10; State Department, 8. If we add to 
these 4 employees of the Attorney-General's office, 
we have a total of 130, or 136 including the heads, 
which was approximately the number transferred 
from Philadelphia. 



THE GOVERNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 117 

November 17, 1800, Congress assembled at the 
Capitol, of which the north wing only was ready 
for occupancy. Neither branch of the legislature 
secured a quorum at the date of opening but on 
the 21st of the month a joint committee notified 
President Adams that the body was in session and 
prepared to receive any communication from him. 
To this the chief executive replied by congratu- 
lating the people of the United States on the as- 
sembling of Congress '' at the permanent seat of 
their government " and the legislators on " the pros- 
pect of a residence not to be changed." 

The first session of the Supreme Court in the 
City of Washington, was '' holden at the Capitol " 
— as the minutes put it — on the 2d day of Feb- 
ruary, 1801. At this date the transfer of the Gov- 
ernment had been completed in all its details. 

It was not with any degree of pleasure that the 
national legislators and federal officials moved to 
the new capital. The change was looked upon as 
involving something in the nature of exile. De- 
spite the report of the Commissioners of the Dis- 
trict that the public buildings were sufficiently ad- 
vanced to make the transfer practicable and that 
the accommodations were satisfactory, it was well 
known that neither the office nor residence facili- 
ties were anything like equal to the requirements. 
There was a widespread hope, maintained until the 
last moment, that the change might be deferred 



118 WASIITXCTON. 

if iiut entirely averted. 1'lii> li<.])0 wa^ naturally 
strongest in I'liiladcljiliia where the Government 
had for so many years been domiciled. The build- 
ing erected by the State of Pennsylvania on Ninth 
Street between ^larket and Chestnut for the ac- 
commodation <if the President of the Ignited States, 
but which had not been occupied by either of the 
iiHMunbents of the office, was not disposed of until 
jjfier the removal had been accomplished. 

Xotwithstanding the general dislike among the 
servants of the people to taking up work and mak- 
ing their homes in what was commonly spoken of as 
*' the wildei*ne-s/' it is notewoi'thy that, with few 
excei)tions tiny accepted the situation cheerfully 
and made light of the discomforts and inconven- 
i.nce^ that it entailed upon them. This attitude 
was (•liaraeteri>tie of the men of the day, who went 
about the upbuilding of the republic in much the 
-;ame s])irit of self-sacrifice and confidence in the 
future that jietuated their forefathers in the ])io- 
neer perio<l <if the colonies. 

The '' city " was not an attractive spot, but, per- 
ha]><, the jiieture of its desolation has been some- 
what ((verdrawn. Foreign travelers unconsciously 
subjected the infant capital to unfair comparison 
with Euro])ean towns and even Americans fre- 
quently faile<l to make due allowance for the diflfi- 
culties that had attended its foundation. It cer- 
tainlv was not " as much a wilderness as Ken- 



THE GOVERNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 119 

tucky ■' but it had been only a few years before and, 
when we consider the pathetic poverty of the Gov- 
ernment, the degree of advance attained was not 
discreditable. In May, 1801, the Commissioners 
reported 191 brick and 108 frame houses com- 
pleted, whereas 95 of the former kind and 41 of 
the latter were under construction, making a total 
of 735. In 1796, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the 
largest of the interior towns, contained but 900 
houses, and Xewport, Ehode Island, 1,000, wdiilst 
no other center betw^een Boston and New York had 
more than 500. Wilmington, Delaware, had GOO 
Houses ; Albany, 1,100 ; Harrisburg, 300 ; Trenton, 
200. Philadelphia, the most populous city in the 
country, harbored 50,000 people; New York, 10,- 
000; Baltimore, 16,000. 

Washington from many points of view doubtless 
presented the appearance of a houseless waste owing 
to the liberal lines on which it had been laid out 
and the scattering of the building operations. 
Aside from the Capitol and the President's resi- 
dence there was scarcely any physical reproduction 
of the map plan. But one other public building 
w^as completed, being the Treasury, which stood 
upon the ground occupied by the south end of the 
present structure. It was a two-story edifice of 
stone and brick with attic and basement and con- 
tained thirty rooms. A building similar in size 
and appearance to the Treasury was in course of 



iL'O WASHINGTON. 

erection i'm* the War I )e})artnient on the southwest 
enrrx r of tlie White House reservation but it was 
not tit for OL'cupancj until some time after the re- 
moval, ^leanwhile the War Department leased a 
house on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue, 
hctween Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets and 
almost opposite the tavern kept by AVilliam O'Neil, 
the father of the famous Peggy. 

The Post Office Department leased quarters at 
the corner of Ninth and E streets, northwest, near 
l>lo«lget's Hotel. Mr. Bradley informs his chief: 

** We have taken Dr. Cracker's house for this 
office (close by the Great Hotel) and for my family 
at $<500 a year. The apportionment of the rent I 
shall leave to you. It appears that $200 is as much 
as I <Mi_irht to pay for a house. Our office is kept 
<»n the second floor, which contains one large room 
an<l two small ones. The largest room is 27x17 
feet, and the smaller rooms are each 15x14 feet. 
Tlic front room on tlic first floor was prepared for 
Mr. Monroe's office,* with an apartment for 
blanks." 

Congress was tolerably well off in respect to its 
business quarters. The completed wing of the Cap- 
itol afforded sufficient room for the sessions of both 
branches and $0,000 had been appropriated for fur- 



* Tlio reforcnce is to Thomas Munroe — not " Monroe " — 
wlio was Postmaster of the City of Washington from 1799 
to 1820. 



THE GOVEKNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 121 

nisliing it. In the matter of personal accommoda- 
tion the members were less fortunate. Few of 
.them could secure lodgings in the vicinity of the 
Capitol and manj were obliged to live in George- 
town, which subjected them to journeying to and 
fro over very bad roads, but insured them the com- 
pensatory advantage of pleasant and cultivated so- 
ciety. 

A letter of Gallatin to his wife throws a great 
deal of light upon the conditions under which Con- 
gress commenced its labors in the embryo capital. 

" Washington City, 15th January, 1801. 
" Our location is far from being pleasant or even 
convenient. Around the Capitol are seven or eight 
boarding houses, one tailor, one shoemaker, one 
printer, a washing-woman, a grocery shop, a pam- 
phlets and stationery shop, a small dry goods shop, 
and an oyster house. This makes the whole of the 
Federal City as connected with the Capitol. At 
the distance of three-fourths of a mile, on or near 
the Eastern Branch, lie scattered the habitations of 
Mr. Law, of Mr. Carroll, the principal proprietors 
of the ground, half a dozen houses, a very large but 
perfectly empty warehouse, and a wharf graced by 
not a single vessel. And this makes the whole in- 
tended commercial part of the city, unless we in- 
clude in it what is called the Twenty Buildings, 
being so many unfinished houses, commenced by 



122 WASHINGTON. 

M(.rrl- an<] Xicliolsoii, and perhaps as many under- 
taken by Greenleaf, both which groups lie at a dis- 
tance of half a mile from each other, near the 
mouth of tlie Eastern Branch and the Potomac and 
arc divided ])y a larjie swamp from the Capitol Hill 
and the little village connected with it. I am at 
Conrad and Munn's, where I share the room of Mr. 
Varnum and pay at the rate, I think, including at- 
tendance, wood, candles, and liquors, of 15 dollars 
per week. At table, I believe we are from twenty- 
four to thirty, and, was it not for the presence of 
Mr>. I'ailey and ^Irs. Brown, would look like a 
refectory of monks." 

The general discomfort extended even to the 
White House. Mrs. Adams complains in a letter 
to her dauiihtcr that the gi'ounds are not fenced off, 
the house is unfinished and there is difficulty in 
heating it, the main stairway has not been built nor 
bells hung, and she is obliged to use the audience 
chamber — what is now known as tlie '^ East 
"Room " — to dry clothes in. However, like the ma- 
jority of the newcomers, she is disposed to make 
tlie ])est of the situation. ^' If they ])ut u]) bells," 
slie concludes, ^' aiul let me have wood enough to 
keep fires, T design to be pleasant, l^ut, sur- 
rounded with forest, can you believe that wood is 
7iot to be had, because ]')eo])le cannot ])o f(^und to 
cut and cart it? . . . We have indeed come 
to a new country." 



THE GOVERNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 123 

Mr. Wells, who acted as chairman in the original 
survey, and was living in 1866, stated that at the 
time of the advent of the Government, more than 
half the territory inckuled in the limits of the city 
" was covered with woods and swamps." Weld, in 
1799, wrote: "A spectator can scarcely perceive 
anything like a town ; excepting the streets and 
avenues and a small part of the ground adjoining 
the public buildings, the whole place is covered with 
trees. To be under the necessity of going through 
a deep woods for one or two miles, perhaps in order 
to see a next-door neighbor, and in the same city, 
is a curious, and, I believe, a novel circumstance." 
Almost every record of observation at this time em- 
phasizes the predominance of woodland and yet 
within a few years we have the complaint that the 
ground has been recklessly denuded of its trees. 

Warden"^ wrote in 1816: ''Washington has 
been lately deprived of a luxury in a warm climate 
— the spreading shade of magnificent trees. Be- 
tween the Capitol and the President's house, a cer- 
tain space of thickly shaded ground, extended to- 
wards the river, destined for a public walk, was ad- 
mirably fitted for this purpose; but the oaks and 
other forest trees with which it was adorned, have 
been wantonly destroyed by a spirit which will 
never cease to excite disgust and indignation. In 

* " Chorographical and Statistical Description of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia." David B. Warden. Paris, 1816. 



124 WASHINGTON. 

the act of cession of these lands it had been stipu- 
lated that all the wood growing thereon belonged 
to })nrchasers.* The abuse of this privilege might 
have been readily anticipated, but the evil was felt 
when there was no longer a remedy. The commis- 
sioners interposed for the preservation of the trees 
wliicli remained, but this late interposition was of 
no avail. Venerable oaks, which shaded a fine 
s])ring, sitnated at the foot of Capitol Hill, near the 
l*cnnsylvania Avenue, were cut down by barbarian 
hands, which did not even spare the honeysuckle, 
eglantine, and other flowering shrubs. A spot like 
this would have been worshipped by the ancients; 
it would have been emphatically denominated Sylva 
Sacra ; he wbo would dare to profane it would have 
been doomed to an ignominous juuiishment. The 
case is widely ditferent with the first settlers of 
Washington, who arriving there in indigent state, 
unabl(» t(» ]uirchasc wood for fuel or for the constmc- 
tion of their cabins, through necessity lay the axe to 
some of the finest timber. Tn this wild state, trees 
were considered as common property — res nul- 
bus. 

Christian Tlines states that between the years 
1800 and 1S0(;, ''there were several clusters of 

* Til is is not a strictly correct stntcincnt. See para. 5 of 
llip original ponvcvaiico, (jiiotod on pajros 33-35 of tlie present 
volume. It is clear that the terms of the agreement left it 
witliin the power of the President to preserve the standing 
trees to any desired extent upon condition of a reasonable 
comi)ensation to the owners. 



THE GOVERNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 125 

beautiful forest trees jet standing in different parts 
of the city. . . . The Capitol was not then en- 
closed, but was surrounded by a large number of 
forest trees, at least the west side of it. Near the 
trees a gallows was erected." 

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, 
Washington had a population of between three and 
four thousand. The great majority of the inhab- 
itants were artisans or laborers attracted to the spot 
by the prospect of remunerative employment. To 
such, of course, the original building restrictions 
could not have been applied. They were satisfied 
to live in the meanest cabins of temporary construc- 
tion and these they knocked together on any avail- 
able spot that offered. The permanent buildings 
Avere scattered from Georgetown to the Eastern 
Branch with intervening patches of woodland."^ 
Each speculator had his individual opinion as to the 
development of the city and naturally followed it in 
the erection of residences designed for the accom- 
modation of the future population. There was no 
concerted action nor any controlling design. The 
official plan, although it influenced most of the opera- 
tions, was too vast and prospective to effect any co- 
hesive action. It was many years before the 
growth of the city took a definite and determined 
form. 



* See Appendix for an enumeration of the houses standing 
within the city limits in 1800. 



12G WASHINGTON. 

On liidepciulencc Day, ISOO, Oliver Walcott, Jr., 
wrote to his wife as follows : 

" There are but few houses at any one place, and 
most of them small, miserable huts, which present 
an awful contrast to the public buildings. The 
people are i)oor, and so far as I can judge, they 
live, like tishes, by eating each other. All the 
ground for several miles around the city being, in 
the opinion of the people, too valuable to cultivate, 
remains unfenced. There are but few enclosures, 
even for gardens, and these are in bad order. You 
may look in almost any direction, over an extent 
of ground nearly as large as the City of Xew York, 
without seeing a fence, or any object, except brick- 
kilns and temporary huts for laborers. Mr. Law 
and a few other gentlemen, live in great splendor; 
I tut most (if the inhabitants are low people Avhose 
appearance indicates vice and intemperance, or ne- 
groes. 

" All the himls which 1 have described are valued, 
by the superficial foot, at fourteen to twenty-five 
cents. There ap])ears to be a confident exj)ectation 
that this j)lace will soon exceed any city in the 
\\(»rl<l. Mr. Thornton, one of the Connnissioners, 
sj)<»ke of 160,000 people, as a matter of course, in 
a few years. Xo stranger can be here a day, and 
converse with the proprietors, without conceiving 
himself in the company of crazy people. Their ig- 
norance of the rest of the world, and their delusions 



THE GOVERNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 127 

with respect to their own prospects, are without 
parallel. Immense sums have been squandered in 
buildings which are but partly finished, in situ- 
ations which are not, and never will be, the scenes 
of business; while the parts near the public build- 
ings are almost wholly unimproved. 

" I had no conception, till I came here, of the 
folly and infatuation of the people who have di- 
rected the settlements. Though five times as much 
money has been expended as was necessary, and 
though the private buildings are in number suffi- 
cient for all who will have occasion to reside here, 
yet there is nothing convenient, and nothing plenty 
but provisions. There is no industry, society, or 
business. With great trouble and expense, much 
mischief has been done which it will be almost im- 
possible to remedy.'' 

John Cotton Smith, a member from Connecticut, 
thus describes his arrival at Washington to attend 
the first session of Congress there : 

^' Our approach to the city was accompanied with 
sensations not easily described. One wing of the 
Capitol only had been erected, which, with the Pres- 
ident's house, a mile distant from it, both con- 
structed with white sandstone, were shining objects 
in dismal contrast with the scene around them. In- 
stead of recognizing the avenues and streets por- 
trayed on the plan of the city, not one was visible, 
unless we except a road, with two buildings on 



128 WASHINGTON. 

each side of it, called the Xew Jersey avenue. The 
Pennsylvania leading, as laid down on paper, from 
the Capitol to the Presidential mansion, was then 
nearly the whole distance a deep morass, covered 
with alder hushes, which were cut through the width 
of the intended avenue during the then ensuing 
winter. Between the President's house and George- 
town a hlock of houses had been erected, which 
then bore, and may still, the name of the Six Build- 
ings. There were also two other blocks, consisting 
of two or three dwelling houses, in different direc- 
tions, and now and then an isolated wooden habita- 
tion; the intervening spaces, and indeed the surface 
of the city generally, being covered with shrub oak 
bushes on the higher grounds, and on the marshy 
soil either trees or some sort of shrubbery. Xor 
was the desolate aspect of the place a little aug- 
mented by a number of unfinished edifices at Green- 
leaf's Point, and on an eminence a short distance 
from it, conunenced by an individual whose name 
they bore, but the state of whose funds compelled 
him to abandon them, not only unfinished, but in a 
ruinous condition. There appeared to be but two 
really eomfortiible habitations in all respects within 
the bounds of the city, one of which belonged to 
Dudley" Carroll, Esq., and the other to Xotley 
Vt»nn£r, who were the former ])roprietors of a large 

• Tlio rcfert'iicc is iindouhh'dly to Daniel Carroll of Diid- 
dington. 



THE GOVERNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 129 

proportion of tlie land appropriated to the city, 
but who reserved for their own accommodation 
ground sufficient for gardens and other useful ap- 
purtenances. The roads in every direction were 
muddy and unimproved. A sidewalk was at- 
tempted in one instance by a covering formed of 
the chips of the stones which had been hewn from 
the Capitol. It extended but a little way, and was 
of little value, for in dry weather the sharp frag- 
ments cut our shoes and in wet weather covered 
them with white mortar. In short, it was a ' new set- 
tlement.' The houses, with two or three exceptions, 
had been very recently erected, and the operations 
greatly hurried in view of the approaching trans- 
fer of the national government. A laudable desire 
was manifested, by what few citizens and residents 
there were, to render our condition as pleasant as 
circumstances Avould permit." 

Gouverneur Morris's satirical but good-humored 
comment contained an element of prophecy that he 
little suspected. He came to Washington to attend 
Jefferson's inauguration and said of the city: 
^' We only need here houses, cellars, kitchens, schol- 
arly men, amiable women, and a few other such 
trifles to possess a perfect city. In a word, this is 
the best city in the world to live in — in the future." 

Allowing for the misjudgment and inaccuracies 
that are usually allied to first impressions, these 
quotations afford a fairly true description of the 



i;30 WASHINGTON. 

aspect mid c'un<lilinn uf the new capital at the time 
that the (loveniiiieiit took possession uf it. Except- 
ing one or two, who were clearly inspired by a spirit 
of malice, the only fault we can find with the critics 
is failure to appreciate the factors that affected the 
sitiiati(»ii (luiini»: the decade of preparation. Con- 
sidering how little more than nothing the National 
(iovernmcnt had done towards the establishment of 
tin' city, the newcomers should not have expected a 
greater degree of accomplishment than they found. 
Of course it was a '" new settlement." Did John 
Cotton Smith look for a completed town to be built 
liy prixate ('ntcrpi-i>e in advance of the advent of 
inhabitants ( Wolcott need not have been surprised 
to find a poinilation of laborers composed mostly of 
^Mow jH'ople " devoid of "society or business." 
And (Jallatin would have had greater ground for 
conmient had he seen the warehouses filled with 
goods and the wharves crowded with vessels. Xo 
little enterprise and c(niragc was displayed by the 
men who invested their money in Washington and 
decided to rise or fall with its doubtful fortunes. 
If they laid their ])lans with a view to their owti 
profits rather than the convenience of the coming 
Concressnien, who shall blame them? They w^ere 
d('ln<lc(l in the belief that a great connnercial em- 
porium \v(Mihl i*a])idly develop on the site chosen 
for ihe seat of the National (Jovernment, but they 



THE GOVEKNMENT TAKES POSSESSION. 131 

shared that delusion with George Washington and 
they paid dearly for the error of judgment. 

The growth of the City of Washington during 
the next half century was pitifully slow. The am- 
bitious hopes of the founder for the city were not 
entertained by Congress, whose members displayed 
a distinct disinclination to see the nation's capital 
expand and reach its inevitable place among the 
leading cities of the country. For many years af- 
ter its establishment, the permanency of the capital 
was threatened at frequent intervals and it was not 
until after the Civil War that the question w^as 
placed beyond the bounds of doubt. For more than 
seventy years the upbuilding and improvement of 
the city depended upon the inhabitants and was 
effected solely by their efforts and at their cost. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE GOVERXME^■T OF THE DISTRICT. 

Widespread icrnoraiice and inisnnderstanding as 
to the guvcrnincnt of Washington and the relations 
of its residents ^vith Congress have always pre- 
vjii]('<l. The popnlar misconceptions have time and 
again heen voiced upon the floor of the House, and 
it is only within comparatively late years that the 
])eoples' representatives have awakened to a sense 
of their duties towards the Capital and a realiza- 
tion of the nnitnal interests of the city and the na- 
tinii. Siiiiiuhilcil hy several concomitant circum- 
stances, general interest in the national city has 
<l)rnng into sudden and keen existence during the 
past (hx'ade. Indeed, it would seem that the cen- 
tennial ('(•lcl)rntion of 1000 marked the close of a 
(•(•ntury of hackwardness in the growth of the me- 
tropolis and the o]iening of another in which avou- 
• Icrt'nl (l('V('lo])nu'nt is presaged hy recent accom- 
plishment and contein])lated improvement. At 
least a hricf account of the various forms of local 
government nn<ler which the city has heen governed 
is essential to a proper ai)pi*eciation of the condi- 
i:y2 



THE GOVEENMENT OF THE DISTKICT. 133 

tions tliat liave retarded its growtli in the past and 
those that will make for its nphnildiiig in the fu- 
tnre."^ 

With commendable regard for the welfare of 
their citizens, Virginia and Maryland embodied in 
the acts of cession that transferred portions of their 
territory to the nation, a provision that the laws of 
those States shonld remain in force in the respec- 
tive districts nntil Congress shonld actually as- 
sume jurisdiction over them. These conditions 
were accepted by the national legislature and, 
with a few exceptions of no moment, it passed 
no- laws applicable particularly to the District 
of Columbia until the early part of the year 
1801. During the intervening period, however, 
the cessionaries enacted various legislation for the 
benefit of the sections w-ith which they had parted 
and, in fact, efficiently filled the place of a legisla- 
ture to the District. It must be understood that 
the early Commissioners were merely empowered 
to act as agents for the United States in matters 
relating to the public lands in the new territory. A 
law of the State of Maryland conferred upon them 
the further authority to act in several directions 
with regard to local improvement and convenience. 
They were, for instance, to license the building of 

* The account of the government of the District of Co- 
lumbia is derived from Sen. Doc. 238, Fifty-eighth Cong., 2d 
sess. and Sen. Doc. 



i:U WASHINGTON. 

wharves, to make building regulations and assess 
penalties for their violation, and '' to grant licenses 
for retailing distilled s])irits" within the city lim- 
its, but not '^ in less quantity than 10 gallons to 
the same person." 

Aside from the legislative action of the States in 
question, the '' ten miles square" was subject to the 
influences of several agencies for local government, 
(jeorgetown and Alexandria were corporate munici- 
])alities. That portion of the territory which had 
been ceded by ^Faryland, exclusive of Georgeto\vii, 
was subject to the jurisdiction of the levy court, an 
institution that maintained its existence until the 
establishment of the '^ territorial " form of govern- 
ment in the District. It was composed of seven 
members, appointed by the governor of the State 
from llio justices of the peace. The functions of 
the body included the assessment of property, the 
collection of taxes, the re])air and construction of 
roads, bridges and county buildings, the support of 
the poor, and the appointment of overseers, consta- 
bles, etc. After the removal of the goveniment, 
the members of this im]iortant court were chosen 
by the President of the Uuited States and, in 1848, 
he was authorized by Congress to increase the mem- 
bershi]) of the body to eleven by the appointment 
of four persons to represent the City of Washing- 
ton. Fifteen years later, the membership of the 
levy court was readjusted bv act of Conc:ress which 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT. 135 

decreed tliat it should consist of nine persons, five 
of whom were to be residents of the county, three 
of Washington and one of Georgetown. 

In the territory west of the Potomac, lying out- 
side the limits of Alexandria, there was a somewhat 
similar institution to that which has just been de- 
scribed, known as the county court and also com- 
posed of justices of the peace, appointed by the 
governor. The authority of the Virginia body was 
more extensive than that of the Maryland levy 
court. The former exercised judicial functions, 
and instead of directly making assessments on prop- 
erty and disbursing public funds, it appointed com- 
missioners to perform those duties. The sheriff 
and coroner were also appointed by the county 
court, which ''heard all legal presentments, crim- 
inal prosecutions, suits in common law and in 
chancery when the amount involved was not more 
than $20." 

Congress inaugurated its assumption of exclusive 
legislation over the District by a law which was ap- 
proved February 27, 1801, providing a judicial 
system for the new federal territory, and from that 
date all laws relating to the District have emanated 
from the supreme source of our legislation. The 
act referred to, divided the District into two coun- 
ties corresponding to the natural division made by 
the river. The east section was to be known as the 
County of Washington and the west as the County 



i:3G WASHINGTON. 

of Alexandria. A circuit court was established 
iiihI authority given for the appointment by the 
I'n-sident of a United States marshal, a district 
attorney, a register of wills, a judge of the orphans' 
court and justices of the peace. The act pro- 
vided that all indictments should be in the name of 
the United States and stipulated that the laws of 
^Maryland and Virginia, already in force, should 
stand. 

In 1S02, the board of commissioners was abol- 
ished and in the same year the city was incor- 
porated. The office of mayor was subject to ap- 
pointment by the President annually and twelve 
members of council were elected yearly by the bal- 
lot of all white male residents of the city. A sec- 
(»nd chamber of five members was chosen from '^ the 
whole number of councilors, elected by their joint 
ballot." The act granting to the city its first char- 
ter stipulated that it should remain in force for two 
years from " the passing thereof, and from thence 
to the end of the next Congress thereafter," but ^^ no 
longer." In fact, this and all forms of local gov- 
ernment imposed u]X)n the District until the in- 
stallation of the present system of administration 
by a board of connnissioners, were confessedly in 
the nature of experiments. Congress was not im- 
bued with any degree of confidence as to its ability 
to govern the District properly and representatives 
often publicly expressed doubt upon the subject. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT. 137 

In the course of a debate, John Randolph of 
Roanoke remarked that '' it was well known that 
the indolence of other members (than the District 
Committee) or their indifference, inseparable from 
the situation in which they were placed, could pre- 
vent Congress from legislating with a full under- 
standing of the objects before them." For a long 
time Congress not only accepted the idea of its in- 
capacity in this respect, but by its neglect and ill- 
advised action went far towards establishing it. 

The charter had not reached the limit of its re- 
stricted existence when Congress extended it for 
fifteen years with certain modifications of an un- 
important character. Eight years later, that is in 
1812, further changes were effected in the munici- 
pal government. A board of aldermen and com- 
mon councils were substituted for the two chambers 
composing the city councils. The aldermen were 
elected for two years, each of the four wards of the 
city having tw^o. Three members of council were 
elected annually from each ward. The mayor was 
elected by joint ballot of the two bodies in question. 
The first mayor, Robert Brent, had been continued 
in office up to this time by the annual appointment 
of the President. Prior to 1812, neither the mayor 
nor the members of council had received any com- 
pensation for their services. In this year, the for- 
mer Avas j^rovided with a salary of $400 a year, 
increased the next year to $500, and the latter were 



138 WASIIIXGTOX. 

allowed $2 for each day of actual attendance in 
session. At this period, the appropriations for the 
compensation of officials of the corporation ^vere 
hulicronsly small. In 1806, when the city had a 
populatic.n <>f al)ont 0,500, the entire amonnt de- 
voted to that purpose was only $1,4G0, and that in- 
cluded the salaries of treasurer, register, secretaries 
of councils and clerks of the markets. 

In 1820, the extended term of the act of incor- 
poration expired, and Congress superseded it with a 
new measure. This provided for the election of 
the mayor by the male inhabitants of the city, sub- 
ject to specified color and property qualifications. 
All the officers of the corporation, not elective, were 
a])]ioint<able by the mayor. Such additional pow- 
ers were granted to the corporation as seemed by 
Congress to be called for in the management of a 
city grown to contain 13,247 inhabitants. The 
charter of ISiiO was granted to continue in force 
for a term of twenty years and ''until Congress 
sliall by law determine otherwise." 

Twenty-eight years elapsed before Congi'ess 
made any im]ioi*tant modification in the organic act 
of the city, although its ]iopuhiti(»n had increased 
in the meanwhile to u]nvards of 35,000. In 1848, 
however, esseniial changes in the municipal gov- 
ernment were effected by a new charter. The right 
of <uffrMg(' was extended to every white male citi- 
zen of llic Tnited States, a resident of the citv for 



THE GOVEENMENT OF THE DISTRICT. 139 

one year preceding the election, and who had paid 
the school tax which was one dollar per year. In 
addition to the mayor and the members of council, 
the board of assessors, the register, collector, and 
surveyor, were made for the first time elective offi- 
cers. The powers of the corporation were enlarged, 
especially in relation to levying and collecting taxes 
on property. This act remained in force for a 
period of twenty years, at the end of which all mu- 
nicipal corporations within the District were abol- 
ished and a form of government similar to that 
which obtained in the Territories was established. 
There were, however, important modifications of 
the charter made from time to time in the interim. 
In 1867, all race and property disqualifications 
were divorced from the exercise of the suffrage, it 
being declared that '^ every male person shall be en- 
titled to the elective franchise in the District, 
whether he shall have paid taxes or not," the only 
exceptions being those convicted of a crime or of- 
fense, or one who had given '^ aid and comfort to 
the rebels in the late rebellion." There w^as, how- 
ever, a provision that in order to be entitled to vote, 
a person must be a born or naturalized citizen of 
the United States and must have resided in the Dis- 
trict for a period of three years, and three months 
in the ward or election precinct in which he claims 
a vote, a condition which was modified the next jesLi 
by the substitution of fifteen days for three months. 



140 WASHINGTON. 

Tlie liberal law of 1S67 did not affect the restric- 
tion that only white male citizens who owned free- 
hold property were eligible to the offices of mayor, 
councils, or assessors. By laws passed in 1868 and 
1SC9 the property qualification and color restriction 
as applied to city offices were abolished. 

An act passed in February, 1871, established the 
'I\'n-it<iriiil form of government in the District of 
Columbia, since 1816 confined to the section de- 
rived from ^laryland. The act repealed the char- 
ters of Washington and Georgetown and abolished 
the levy court and in place of these was instituted 
the District of Columbia and a body corporate with 
legislative and executive powers. The appointment 
of the governor, for a term of four years, rested 
with the President, subject to the approval of the 
Senate. The President was also empowered to 
appoint the members of one branch of the legisla- 
tive assembly, a secretary of the District, a board 
of public Works, and a board of health, while the 
members of the other branch of the assembly were 
to be elected by the people. The compensation of 
the officers who were appointed by the President 
with the advice and consent of the Senate, was to 
l)e provided for by the United States, and that of all 
other offiieers by the District. 

It was required that the governor should be a 
citizen of the Ignited States with residence in the 
District for at least one year immediately before 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT. 141 

appointment. The franchise was extended to all 
male citizens, except persons convicted of crime and 
the insane, resident in the District for twelve 
months preceding the election. 

The legislative power was vested in the legisla- 
tive assembly, consisting of a council and house of 
delegates. The former was composed of eleven 
members appointed by the President, two of whom 
were residents of Georgetown and two of the county 
outside of Washington and Georgetown. They 
w^ere to have the qualifications of voters and their 
appointments w^ere to be for tw^o years. The house 
of delegates, which was elected by the people, num- 
bered twenty-two members, who served for one year 
and had the same qualifications as the members of 
the council. The territory was divided into eleven 
districts for the appointment of members of coun- 
cil and twenty-two districts for the election of dele- 
gates, so as to give, as the act stated, each section 
of the District representation according to popula- 
tion. The members of the two bodies w^ere to re- 
side in the districts from wbich they were elected 
or appointed. To the legislative assembly was 
given power to provide for the election or appoint- 
ment of all necessary officers. 

The concurrence of a majority of members of 
both chambers w^as necessary to the passage of a bill. 
The veto of the governor might be neutralized by a 
two-thirds vote of all the members of both houses. 



142 WASHINGTON. 

Tlie net sjx'citied various limitations of the power 
of the legishitive assembly. All the acts of that 
body were subject to repeal or moditication bj Con- 
gress and it was stipulated that : *' Nothing herein 
shall be cnnstrued to dei)rive Congress of the power 
(if legislation over the same District in as ample a 
iiiainicr as if the law had not been enacted." 

Tlie Tcrritnrial form of government was abol- 
ished in 1.ST4, and the President was authorized to 
appoint, with the approval of the Senate, a board 
of three commissioners to administer temporarily 
the affairs of the District. 

The act of June, 1878, conferred upon the Dis- 
trict of Columbia its first permanent form of gov- 
ernment. In a decision rendered in 1890, the 
Supreme Court of the United States declared that 
this act must be ^^ regarded as an organic act, in- 
tended to dispose of the whole question of a gov- 
ernnicMit for this District. It is, as it were, a con- 
stitution of the District. It is declared by its title 
to be an act to provide a permanent form of gov- 
ernment for the District. The word permanent is 
suggestive. It implies that prior systems had been 
temporary and provisional. As permanent it is 
('<»ni])l(*te in itself. Tt is the system of government. 
It is . . . the outcome of previous 
experiments, and the final judgment of Congress 
as to the system of a government which should ob- 



THE GOVEKNMENT OF THE DISTEICT. 143 

The present local government of the District of 
Columbia is a municipal corporation, having juris- 
diction coincident with the territory which had been 
subject to the two municipal governments imme- 
diately preceding it. The government is adminis- 
tered by a board of three commissioners, having in 
general equal powers and duties. Two of them, 
who must have been actual residents of the Dis- 
trict for three years immediately before their ap- 
pointment, and having during that period claimed 
residence nowhere else, are appointed from civil 
life by the President, subject to confirmation by 
the Senate, and serve for a term of three years each. 
The other commissioner is detailed from time to 
time by the President from the Engineer Corps of 
the Army and shall not be required to perform any 
other duty. The act of 1878 prescribes that the 
Engineer Commissioner shall have lineal rank 
above that of captain, a provision qualified by the 
joint resolution of 1890 which states that he ^^ may, 
in the discretion of the President of the United 
States, be detailed from among the captains or offi- 
cers of higher grade having served at least fifteen 
years in the Corps of Engineers of the Army of the 
United States." Three officers of the same corps, 
junior to the Commissioner in question, may be 
detailed by the President to assist him in his du- 
ties, ^o more than two have ever been so assigned 
at one time. 



144 WASHINGTON. 

Tlio salary of each of the Commissioners is 
$5,000 a yoar. The two Commissioners appointed 
from civil life give a bond to the United States in 
the sum of $50,000 each, but no such requirement 
is enacted of the Engineer Commissioner. 

For the purposes of facilitating the administra- 
tion of the various municipal affairs, the Commis- 
sioners have arranged their duties in substantially 
three groups and have assigned a several one of these 
groups to the immediate supervision of each of their 
number, Avhose recommendations on the matters 
allotted to him are ultimately acted upon by him- 
self and his colleagues as a board. One of the 
Commissioners is ex-officio a member of the board 
ftf tr\istees of the Reform School for Boys, and an- 
other ex-officio trustee of the Columbia Hospital for 
Women and Lying-in iVsylum. 

Tlie Couimissioners are in a general way vested 
with jurisdiction covering all the ordinary features 
of municipal government. Although Congress re- 
tains its riglit of exclusive legislative authority in 
the District of Columbia, it has, by sundry statutes, 
em])(>w('re(l the Commissioners to make building 
regulations; phunbing regulations; to make and en- 
force all such reasonable police regulations as they 
may deem necessary for the safety and comfort of 
tlie public iiml the ]U'otection of property within the 
District and other regulations of a municipal na- 
ture. They may not, however, enter into any con- 



THE GOVEKNMENT OF THE DISTKICT. 145 

tracts or incur any liabilities without the consent 
and approval of Congress. 

The Commissioners are required to submit to 
the Secretary of the Treasury, once every year, an 
estimate of the amount necessary to defray the ex- 
penses of the government of the District during the 
ensuing fiscal year. This estimate is transmitted 
to Congress by the Secretary Avith a statement of 
his approval or otherwise. The organic act de- 
clares that : ''To the extent to which Congress 
shall approve of said estimates, Congress shall ap- 
propriate the amount of fifty per centum thereof; 
and the remaining fifty per centum of such ap- 
proved estimates shall be levied and assessed upon 
the taxable property and privileges in said district 
other than the property of the United States and of 
the District of Columbia." 

The assessment of real property for the purpose 
of general annual taxation is made by a board of 
three assistant assessors, who sit also with the asses- 
sor as a board of equalization to hear appeals from 
their assessments. This assessment is made every 
three years, but the assistant assessors have the 
power to assess at any time any assessable real prop- 
erty wdiich may have escaped assessment in regular 
course or become liable thereto after the last trien- 
nial assessment, and to strike off any property which 
for any reason shall have since become exempt. 
Assessments against private real property for its 
10 



146 WASHINGTON. 

share of the cost of public works especially bene- 
ticial thereto, and for other special charges, except 
fur use of water, are also made by the assessor. 
Water rates are assessed by the water department. 

The rate of taxation in any one year shall not 
exceed $1.50 on every $100 of real estate not ex- 
empted by law; and on personal property not tax- 
able elsewhere, $1.50 on every $100, according to 
the cash vahiation thereof. Upon real property 
hekl and used exclusively for agricultural purposes 
without the limits of the city of Washington, and 
to be so designated by the assessors in their annual 
returns, the rate for any one year shall not exceed 
$1 on every $100. 

The judges of the Supreme Court of tlie District 
of ('(ihuiihia ha\(' the a})pointment of the board of 
education, consisting of nine persons who have been 
for live years innnediately preceding their term of 
office, bona fide residents and taxpayers of the Dis- 
trict. The board whose term of office is three 
years, makes all regulations for the government and 
conduct of the schools, and has the right of appoint- 
ment and removal in the case of all officers and 
emjiloyees connected with the public schools. 

A board of charities to consist of five mem- 
bers residents of the District, are appointed by the 
President, with the approval of the Senate, each 
for a term of throe years. Xo member of this 
l)oai<l niav serve as trustee or other administrative 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT. 147 

officer of any institution subject to the visitation of 
the board of charities. The board of charities 
visits, inspects, and maintains a general supervision 
over all institutions, societies, or associations of a 
charitable, eleemosynary, correctional, or reforma- 
tory character which are supported in whole or in 
part by appropriations of Congress made for the 
care or treatment of residents of the District of 
Columbia. 

The board of children's guardians to care for the 
dependent children of the District of Columbia, is 
appointed by the judges of the police court and the 
judge holding the criminal courts of the District, 
the assent of a majority of such judges, sitting as a 
board, being necessary to each appointment. The 
power of removal is vested in the same body. It is 
stipulated that there shall always be at least three 
members of each sex among the nine persons com- 
posing the board of charities. 

The judiciary of the District of Columbia con- 
sists of a court of appeals, a supreme court, a po- 
lice court, justices of the peace, and a number of 
United States commissioners. 

The court of appeals of the District consists of a 
chief justice and two associate justices. The sal- 
ary of the chief justice is $6,500 a year and that of 
each of the associates $6,000. The jurisdiction of 
the court extends to the review of the final orders 
and judgments of the supreme court of the Dis- 



148 WASHINGTON. 

trict, and from such of its interlocutory orders as 
the court of appeals may allow in the interest of 
justice; it has also jurisdiction in cases of suits and 
controversies in law and equity arising under the 
patent and copyright laws. An appeal lies from 
the final judgment or decree of the court of appeals 
to the Supreme Court of the United States in all 
cases in which the matter in dispute exceeds $5,000, 
and also without regard to the sum in dispute 
wherein is involved the validity of any patent or 
copvright, or in which the question is raised of the 
validity of any statute of or an authority exercised 
under the United States. 

The supreme court of the District of Columbia 
consists of one chief justice with five associate jus- 
tices, whose compensation is $5,000 a year each. 
Tlie members of this court, as with those of the 
court of appeals, are appointed by the President, 
subject to the confirmation of the Senate, and hold 
office during good behavior. This court is one of 
general jurisdiction, having the same powers and 
scope as the circuit courts of the United States. It 
has cognizance of all crimes and offenses com- 
mitted within the District, and of all cases of law 
and equity between parties, both or either of whom 
may be resident or found in the District, and also 
of all actions or suits of a civil nature at common 
law or in equity in which the Ignited States shall 
be plaintiff or defendant ; and of all seizures on 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT. 149 

land or on water, and of all penalties and forfeit- 
ures arising or accruing under the laws of the 
United States. It is invested with jurisdiction to 
issue writs of mandamus to executive officers of the 
Federal and municipal government; it has also 
appellate jurisdiction over justices of the peace. 
It has jurisdiction of all applications for divorce, 
and may entertain petitions for change of name; 
and it has concurrent jurisdiction with justices of 
the peace when the amount in controversy exceeds 
$100. Appeals lie from this court to the court of 
appeals. It is divided into a circuit court, an 
equity court, a district court, a criminal court, and 
a prohate court. 

The police court consists of two judges, whose 
compensation is $3,000 per annum each. They are 
appointed by the President, and confirmed by the 
Senate, for a term of six years. The jurisdiction of 
the court extends to the disposition of cases involv- 
ing minor violations of the criminal laws and the 
holding of persons brought before it for the action 
of the grand jury. Appeal may be taken from the 
police court to the court of appeals. 

Justices of the peace are appointed by the Presi- 
dent, and confirmed by the Senate, for a term of 
four years. They have civil jurisdiction in cases 
involving an amount less than $300, and in dis- 
putes between landlord and tenant. They have no 
criminal jurisdiction and appeal from their de- 



150 WASHINGTON. 

cisions iiiav In* carried to the supreme court of the 
District. 

The Tnited States commissioners are appointed 
by the supreme court of the District. Thev are 
essentially examining magistrates, who conduct in- 
vestigations into alleged violations of United States 
statutes, and decide whether parties brought before 
them shall be sent to the grand jury. 

The establishment of the seat of government in 
territory segregated from the component political 
divisions of the country, Avas a unique national ac- 
tion, designed to meet peculiar conditions. That 
the proposition received the ready and general ap- 
])r()val of the men who had the genius to effect the 
organization, and the foresight to construct the 
Constitution of the United States, is sufficient evi- 
dence that it was, at the time, the best conceivable 
solution of the situation. 

In the state of suspicion and jealousy that ex- 
isted imiong the intogi'al parts of the republic, it 
was deemed advisable, and conducive to union, that 
the place of general government should be in a ter- 
ritory at once neutral and common. This arrange- 
ment was calculated to obviate the fear, justly en- 
tertained, that any State which might contain the 
federal capital would exercise undue iniluence in 
the national Ici^islnture an<l over the national ad- 
ministration. A further consideration, and a potent 
one, was the fnct tlmt. with exclusive jurisdiction 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT. 151 

and the free disposition of the local militia, Con- 
gress would be enabled to protect itself against the 
possible recurrence of such an event as the riot that 
drove it from Philadelphia to Princeton in 1783. 

Despite the fact that the arrangement could not 
be consummated without entailing anomalous con- 
ditions conflicting with the basic principle in sup- 
port of which the colonies had contended Avith the 
mother country, there Avas little opposition to it, 
and the enabling clause was accepted by the con- 
vention and inserted in the Constitution without 
recorded debate. 

Thus it comes about that the resident of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia is subjected to taxation by fed- 
eral authority w^ithout enjoying what, according to 
republican doctrine, is the inseparable privilege of 
representation in the federal legislature. This cir- 
cumstance is commonly accepted as fit ground for 
commiseration with the citizens of the national cap- 
ital. Representative Clark, in 1805, stated that he 
" never spoke of the inhabitants but with pity and 
compassion, '^ and another Representative of the 
same name made a similar declaration in 1907. 

The people of Washington would undoubtedly be 
benefited by the presence, in each body of Congress, 
of representatives qualified and entitled to voice 
their needs and guard their interests, and the 
mooted emendation of the Constitution, for the 
purpose of effecting the desired representation, has 



152 WASHINGTON. 

botli reason and expediency to recommend it. The 
residentvS of the District generally have not, how- 
ever, any desire for further curtaihnent of the 
comprehensive control conferred npon Congress by 
the Constitution. They are generally Avilling to 
forego sentimental considerations for the sake of 
substantial advantages. They are generally well 
satisfied with the present arrangement, by which 
they share equally with the nation, the expense of 
local administration. They are more than content 
with the form of government under which the city 
has flourislied and grown during the past twenty- 
five years, whilst municipal management almost 
everywhere else in America has been marked by 
failure. They appreciate the absence of ^^ graft " 
and i)arty politics from their affairs, and the con- 
centration of authority and precise location of re- 
sjM)nsibility that characterize the administration of 
tlicm. In no municipality is keener interest 
evinced in the welfare of the community and the 
development of the city ; in none is the public voice 
so clearly heard or so quickly heeded. 

The system, under which Washington has pros- 
pered since 1878, is the prototype of the much-dis- 
cussed plan that has been adopted with success by 
Galveston, Des Moines, and many other cities of 
tlie South and West, in recent years. The essential 
feature is centralization of authority and responsi- 
bility. Except that in one case the primary source 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT. 153 

of power is the State Legislature, and in the other, 
Congress, there is no important difference between 
the forms of municipal government obtaining in 
Washington and Galveston. In the latter city, the 
administration is intrusted to a commission, each 
member of wdiich assumes responsibility for the 
proper performance of certain specified duties, and 
so it is in the former. In both cases, the commis- 
sioners fill the minor municipal offices and are held 
answerable for the conduct of their appointees. It 
is true that the Commissioners of the District of 
Columbia are nominated by the President and con- 
firmed by the Senate, Avhilst those of Galveston are 
elected by popular vote, but it is questionable 
whether the people of Washington would be bettered 
by the exercise of the franchise in this direction, 
and it is certain that the penalty of incompetence or 
dishonesty could be inflicted with greater prompt- 
ness and less disturbance upon a District Commis- 
sioner than upon a similar official of the ordinary 
municipality. 



rilAPTKTJ VTT. 

A SLr(iGISlI GKOWTir. 

At the tiiiio of its fuuiidation and for many years 
thereafter, few ])orsons entertained hopeful views of 
the future of tlic national ea])ital. Those wlio did 
so, were as extravagant in their optiniistie antici- 
pations as were the majority in their adverse pre- 
dictions. Aladison cherished unbonnded faith in 
the fortunes of the infant metropolis and Jefferson 
was hardly less sanguine. Washington seems to 
have had less doubt about the development of the 
city than about the continuity of the union. 
Shortly before his death, he wrot;' : '' A century 
hence, if this country keeps united, it will produce 
a city though not so large as London, yet of a mag- 
nitude inferior to few others in Eurojie." He be- 
li('V('(l, with logical grounds for the conclusion, that 
Washington wouhl become in all respects the lead- 
ing center of the United States. Commissioner 
Thornton assured Oliver Walcott that the next gen- 
eration would see 100,000 people resident in the 
nietro])olis. Oreenleaf, ^forris and Law^ dreamed 
of the innncdiate realization of L'Enfant's plans, 

154 



A SLUGGISH GROWTH. 155 

and that visionary genius laid his lines for a city 
not less in population than that of the present time. 

But, for the most part, the embryo capital entered 
upon its career, slighted, derided and denounced. 
Contempt and abuse were showered upon it from 
every side and even its legal guardians displayed 
disgust with it and indifference to its interests. This 
untoward attitude continued in greater or less de- 
gree for more than fifty years and, necessarily, re- 
tarded the growth of the city during that time. 
Thus, the development of Washington is marked by 
two distinct periods of about equal length. During 
the first stage, it stagnated and barely maintained 
its possession of the seat of government against the 
machinations of those who aimed to effect a removal 
to some other site. The second stage opened with 
a pronouncedly favorable public sentiment, gener- 
ated by the fact that Washington had been in the 
Civil War tlie focal point of the struggle to main- 
tain the Union. From this time, all thought of re- 
moving the government from it was abandoned. It 
began to enjoy a healthy growth and, with the tardy, 
but righteous, recognition of its duty on the part of 
Congress, the city sprang with marvelous rapidity 
into the state for which its founders had designed it. 

The general dissatisfaction with the location of 
the capital was expressed in the early years by 
scathing letters and doggerel published in the 
various newspapers. Thus, a servant maid of ^ew 



\ 



156 WASHINGTON. 

Yurk was supposed to have communicated to a 
friend the following sentiments of her master: 

lie hopes and he prays they may die in a stall. 
If tliey leave us in debt for Federal Hall, 
In fact, he would rather saw timber or dig, 
Than see them removing to Conogocheague.* 
Where tlie liouses and kitchens are yet to be framed, 

Virginia is represented as paying her respects to 
Massachusetts in even worse verse: 

Ye grave, ye learned asses, so fond of molasses, 

You're fairly outwitted, you're fairly outwitted; 

W'itli this Georgetown motion — oh dear, what a po- 
tion — 

In the teeth you'll be twitted, in the teeth you'll be 
twitted. 

And you, Mr. Gerry, be not quite so merry 

About Conogocheague, about Conogocheague ; 

For your dull punning jeers, your mobs and your fears. 



And njore of the same sort, to which Massachusetts 
is made to rejily in the following fashion : 

Ye Noddies, how noozled, perplexed, and bamboozled 
Are ye of Potomac, are ye of Potomac: 
Ye had better be found at your homes safe and sound 
A'smoking of shoomack, a'snioking of shoomack. 

Virginia, give over the making a pother 
About the Potomac, about the Potomac; 
For, although you have got it, assumption shall rot it, 
And smoke you like shoemack, and smoke you like 
shocmack. 

• Pronounced Conogojig. 



A SLUGGISH GKOWTH. 157 

A correspondent in one of the daily papers of the 
time, wrote : '' The National bantling, called the 
City of Washington, remains, after ten years of ex- 
pensive fostering, a rickety infant, nnable to go 
alone. . . . This embryo of the State will al- 
ways be a disappointment to its worthy God-fathers 
and God-mothers, and an eyesore to all its relations 
to the remotest degree of consanguinity. The Fed- 
eral city is in reality neither town nor village. It 
may be compared to a country seat where state 
sportsmen may run horses and fight cocks ; kill time 
under cover and shoot Public Service flying. A few 
scattered hamlets, here and there, indicate a sordid 
and dependent population, and two or three vast 
edifices upon distant hills, so palpably demonstrated 
intermediate vicinity, that Indian sachems and 
Tripolitan ambassadors are regularly fitted out for 
a tour northward. 

'' There sits the President, during the summer 
recess, like a pelican in the Avilderness, or a sparrow 
upon the house-top. Imagine the members of both 
Houses, on a frosty morning, trudging along through 
mire and snow like so many pilgrims, incurring vol- 
untary hardships on a journey of penance. 

" May other harms be our warning ; and since 
Congress cannot move Philadelphia to Washington, 
let them, in time return from Washington to Phila- 
delphia, where they alone can expect to command 
the national energies in case of national emergency.'^ 



158 WASHINGTON. 

Congress, whilst in Pliilatlelpliia, had failed to 
command even the local energies in a serious emer- 
gency and it is, perhaps, fortunate that the Jefter- 
son-Hurr election Avas decided in " the wilderness." 
Had Congress been sitting in any large center at 
the time, its halls would almost certainly have been 
inva(l(Ml by a niol). The occasion ali'orded the first 
striking ilhistration of the wisdom of the arrange- 
ment of segregating the seat of government from the 
States. 

About the same time, another wrote : " When 
we reflect on the present state of the population of 
the United States, nothing could be more absurd 
and preposterous than the idea of fixing the seat 
of Congress in a village or the raising of a new 
city in the wilderness for their residence." 

Similar expressions, emanating from writers who 
frequently exhibited culture and conversance wath 
public affairs, appeared at short inten-als in the 
press. In perhaj^s the majority of cases, they con- 
cluded with the advice to Congress to remove the 
seat of government to Philadelphia, ^' the very 
focus of foreign and domestic intelligence." Very 
seldom was a pen wielded in defense of the city or 
in reply to these unjustifiable attacks. Washing- 
ton, in its infancy had few friends, even among 
the residents, and foreign visitors usually added 
ill-('nnsi<h'r('(l adverse criticism to the general con- 
demnation. 



A SLUGGISH GROWTH. 159 

After the capture of the city by the British, in 
1814, a determined attempt was made to end the 
existence of Washington as the national capitaL 
In the course of a debate in Congress on the ques- 
tion of removing the seat of government, Represen- 
tative Lewis of Virginia made a strong plea for 
the District and its people. He reminded the 
House that the capital had been subjected to almost 
incessant antagonism since 1790, and that its per- 
manency had been repeatedly threatened and at- 
tacked by members of the body whose special prov- 
ince it was to protect and foster it. As a conse- 
quence progress had been checked and enterprise 
paralyzed. He pointed out that hundreds of per- 
sons had, with justifiable confidence, invested their 
all in property contributing to the improvement of 
the District, wdio would be reduced to poverty and 
w^ant by a removal. 

The question w^as referred to a committee that 
reported a resolution, " that it is inexpedient to 
remove the seat of government at this time from 
Washington city." A motion to strike out '^ inex- 
pedient '' and insert '' expedient," evoked a vote of 
68 to 68, and Avas carried by the Speaker adding 
an affirmative voice. The report, as amended, was 
then referred to the committee of the whole House, 
and passed, after debate, by a vote of Y2 to 71. 
The ensuing bill which w^as introduced, specified 
Philadelphia as the future capital. On the ques- 



IGO WASHINGTON. 

tiun i)i engrossing it fur a third reading, it was 
lost by a vote of 83 to 74. But, it may be well 
imagined that, as a writer has tersely stated, " the 
alarming movement scared the yonng capital out of 
many a year's growth." 

These onslaughts upon the life of the capital 
were renewed, at intervals, during the ensuing half 
century. The last of any account was made in 
18G9, in favor of St. Louis, by L. U. Eeavis, with 
the support of certain western politicians. In a 
book on the subject, Renvis says (replying to his 
own question, " when will the removal be ef- 
fected?"): ''I unhesitatingly answer that the 
change will be made within five years from Jan. 1, 
1800 . . . and before 1875 the President of 
the United States will deliver his message at the 
new seat of (Jovernmont in the Mississippi Valley." 
But, althougli it may not have been patent to Beavis 
and his sympathizers, the public sentiment that 
cherishes Washington as the permanent and im- 
movable focal point of the national union, had al- 
ready come into existence and any proposition to 
the contrary that might have been advanced after 
the surrender at Ajtpomattox must have met with 
defeat. 

If Washington, during the former stage of its 
history, suffered from the active antagonism of the 
champions of other localities, it endured no less 
hardship from the passive noirlect of Congress. 



A SLUGGISH GROWTH. • 161 

The long-continued failure of that body to live up 
to the moral obligation under Avhich it rested, had 
an excuse, at first, in the fact that during its early 
years the national government had hardly any 
money at its command. AYhen it accepted the gift 
of the '^ ten miles square " from Virginia and 
Maryland, it was utterly lacking the means to make 
the necessary improvements, or even to erect the 
most essential public buiklings. Five-sevenths of 
the area occupied by the present city was deeded 
to the Government by the " original proprietors " 
on the most advantageous terms, a large part of it 
being a gratuity. From sales of portions of this 
propertj^ the funds Avere derived for the construc- 
tion of the immediately necessary government offices 
and extensive reservations were retained which have 
been utilized from time to time for the sites of pub- 
lic buildings. The Administration designed, and 
Congress approved, the plan of a city which no 
municipal community in its infancy, much less a 
Maryland village, could have seriously entertained. 
It was — it must have been — the intention of the 
founders of the city that the Government should 
hold itself responsible for the development of the 
capital along the lines laid down. Nevertheless, 
and although compulsory requirements of con- 
formity to the official plan involved unusual bur- 
dens upon the residents, Congress for many years 
failed to extend a helping hand, and the Washing- 
11 



1G2 WASHINGTON. 

tun of tn-(lav is due primarily to the i^iibllc spirit 
and enterprise uf the iidiabitants of the District. 

Not only did Congress ignore its tacit promise 
to further the material development of the city but 
it also neglected its legal obligation to afford it 
cflicient government. In 1871, during the discus- 
sion of a bill to provide a Territorial form of gov- 
ernment to the District, a member stated upon the 
llnor of the House that during the two years pre- 
vious, only portions of nine afternoons had been 
devoted to legislation for the capital. Ill-digested 
laws were applied to it from time to time, suggest- 
ing to a writer the comparison of the District with 
the '' apothecary's cat, to be dosed experimentally 
witli each dubious compound before it could be 
safely ottered to the puldic." And so for long 
years, the rightful sponsors for the city's welfare, 
withheld fntm it needed legislation and necessary 
financial aid, and ])ermitted it to remain a subject 
of derision and contempt. 

Thomas Law, who sank his entire fortune of 
$L^■)0,()(H) in the early ca})ital, complained that " a 
loose and disconnected population was scattered over 
the city, and instead of a flourishing town the 
stranger who visited us saw for years a number of 
detached villages, having no common interests, fur- 
nl>liiiig little mutual su|)))()rt, hardly sustaining a 
market, and divided by great puhlic reservations." 
This con<lition was the direct result of making a 



A SLUGGISH GROWTH. 163 

plan for a magnificent metropolis and leaving a 
small population with poor resources, to carry it out. 
The location of improvements, whether in the nature 
of speculative operations or private conveniences, 
was influenced by individual surmises as to the 
probable direction and scope of future expansion. 
Instead of coalescence and mutual support, there 
Avas scattering independence, as the result of each 
builder's endeavor to benefit by proximity to some 
prospective public work which, in the great ma- 
jority of instances, was never carried out, or not 
until long afterwards. 

At the date of the British invasion, Pennsylvania 
Avenue was still " the great Serbonian bog " that 
John Randolph of Eoanoke dubbed it, and the city 
deserved the designation of ^' sheep walk " which 
the Secretary of War applied to it. Its appear- 
ance, at that time, is thus described : '' Twelve or 
fifteen clusters of houses at a considerable distance 
from each other, bringing to our recollections the 
appearance of a camp of nomad Arabs, Avhich, how- 
ever, if connected together would make a very re- 
spectable town, not much inferior, perhaps, to the 
capital of Virginia, and here and there an isolated 
house ; the Avhole of it, w^hen seen from the ruins of 
our public edifices, looking more like the place 
where proud Washington once stood than Avhere 
humble Washington now stands." 

The movement in Congress to transfer the cap- 



lOi WASHINGTON. 

ital tn riiila(lcli>lila, altlioiigh it failed, was not 
witlioiit a rctareliiig ctfeot upon the progress of the 
ciiv. Warden, writing in 181C, says: ''The 
vahie «if lots has diminished on account of the proj- 
ect of Kastern niendjers of Congress to transfer 
the seat uf Government to some other place." Even 
at the red need ])rices, there was little sale of lots 
for some time. The city expanded very slowly as 
may be inferred from the fact that in 1824, Mr. 
Crawford, Secretary of the Treasury, being "sent 
to the country for his health," betook himself to a 
remote honse on (Tement Hill, where, at present, 
Fourteenth Street intersects Massachusetts Avenue. 

At this period, the residents of Washington made 
vigorous efforts to remove from the capital the re- 
proach of backwardness under which it had lain for 
a (piarter of a century. Indeed, their patriotism 
and ambition outrode their prudence, for they ex- 
pcuiU'd sums ahogetlier beyond their resources. 
The streets were improved and municipal buildings 
trccted, and an effort Avas made to stimulate com- 
mercial (k'velo])ment by the construction of the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, a cherished project of 
General Washington. The consequence of these 
])raiseworthy, if somewhat injudicious, activities 
was linancial end)arrassment, which prompted an 
appeal to Congress for aid. 

Tn 1835, Senator Southard of Xew Jersey ably 
cham])ioned the cause of the city in Congress. He 



A SLUGGISH GROWTH. 165 

reported its debt to have reached '' the enormous 
sum of $l,806,4i2," towards the liquidation of 
which it had not a dollar available for application. 
He showed the affairs of the canal to be in such a 
precarious state that there was serious danger of 
foreign bankers coming into possession of a large 
proportion of the property within the capital of the 
Union. The Senator went into an exhaustive re- 
view of the just relations between the nation and 
the city of its creation and demonstrated that in all 
equity the Government should permanently assume 
a proper proportion of the expenses incident to the 
development of the District. The residents he 
maintained had, being left to their own resources, 
been impelled to incur expenditures which did not 
rightly pertain to them, but that they had been 
prompted by motives of a liberal and public-spir- 
ited character, and there was nothing in their con- 
duct to justify a denial of the relief which they 
sought. In response to this appeal. Congress saved 
the capital from its impending bankruptcy but 
turned a deaf ear to the suggestion that it should 
share the necessary expenses of its legal ward. 

George Combe, a British traveler, described 
Washington, in 1839, as '' like a large straggling 
village reared in a drained swamp.'' A corpora- 
tion law of the period prohibits the running of 
geese and hogs at large ^' south of Massachusetts 
avenue." As a matter of fact, however, all domes- 



lOG WASHINGTON. 

tic iiiiiiiials li:i(l the frofdoin of the entire city 
until a imich hiter date. A few years later, Dick- 
ens recorded his impressions of '' the headquarters 
of tobacco-tinctured saliva," as be was pleased to 
characterize Washington: ''It is," be says, in 
terms of facetiffi, which were doubtless galling to 
the contenijiorary residents, " it is sometimes called 
the City of ^lagnificent Distances; but it might, 
with iireater propriety, be termed the City of Mag- 
nificent Intentions, for it is only on taking a bird's- 
eye view of it from the top of the Capitol tbat one 
can at all comprehend the vast designs of tbe pro- 
jector, an as])iring Frenchman. Spacious avenues 
tliat begin in nothing and lead nowhere, streets, 
mile long, that only want houses, roads, and in- 
habitants; ])ul)lic l)uildings that need but a public 
to be complete, and ornaments of great thorough- 
fares which only need great thoroughfares to orna- 
ment, are its leading features. One might fancy 
the season over and most of the houses gone out 
of town Avith their masters. To the admirers oi 
cities it is a liarmecide feast; a pleasant field for 
the imagination to rove in; a monument raised to 
a deceased project, with not even a legible inscri}> 
tion to record its departed greatness. Such as it 
is, it is likely to remain. . . . It is very un- 
healthy. l'\"\v ])('(ij)l(> would live in Washington, 
I take it, wlio were not obliged to reside there; and 
the ti<les of emigration and speculation, those rapid 



A SLUGGISH GROWTH. 167 

and regardless currents, are little likely to flow at 
any time towards such sluggish waters." With the 
satisfaction of latter-day achievement in mind, we 
can smile at the mournful note in which the novel- 
ist refers to the '' monument raised to a deceased 
j^roject/' but allowing for humoristic license, the 
description does not diverge greatly from the truth 
and, at any rate, it was but an echo of the dispar- 
aging criticisms and direful predictions that Amer- 
icans of the period commonly applied to the capital 
of their country. 

Ten years after the advent of the government, 
the population of Washington was somewhat more 
than 8,000. The increase thereafter was very 
small and almost nniform in rate, about 5,000 be- 
ing the gross gain at the end of each of the next 
three decadal periods. The expansion was due in 
the main to the gradual extension of the adminis- 
trative machinery and to the fact that with im- 
provement in accommodations, members of Con- 
gress brought their families to the city. There was 
nothing to attract others than office-seekers, labor- 
ers and persons having business with the Govern- 
ment. The efforts to place the capital on a com- 
mercial footing had not met with any considerable 
success. In 1820, the population was 13,247; in 
1830, 18,326; and in 1840, 23,364. 

Had the preceding rate of increase been main- 
tained, the population of Washington in 1850 



168 WASHINGTON. 

\v<.iil<l have been less than 1^0,000. At this time, 
however, there oceiirred a marked improvement in 
the state of its affairs. Congress displayed an un- 
precedented interest in the District and made lib- 
eral a})]n'<)i)riatiuns for its benefit snch as the first 
two Presidents in the White House had endeavored 
without avail to induce. Probably this change 
was largely due to the dominant influence in the 
national Legislature at that period of Senators and 
Kei)resentatives from the South, which section was 
responsible for the location of the capital and had 
always exhibited a friendly regard for its welfare. 
Considerable credit in the matter is also to be given 
to the personal efforts of W. W. Seaton, Avho as 
editor of the National Intelligencer exerted greater 
influence than as flavor of the corporation. The 
action of the Government in advancing the improve- 
ment of the city had the effect of stimulating pri- 
vate enterprise and quieting the fears of the re- 
moval of the seat of government. Under these 
favoring conditions, the population swelled to 40,- 

000 in lsr)0. But the movement was spasmodic 
and, in the absorl)ing consideration of the slavery 
question. Congress soon forgot the needs of the 
capital. 

Anthony Trollope found Washington, in 1860, 
^' a ragged, unfinished collection of unbuilt, broad 
streets, as to the conijiletion of which tliore can now, 

1 innigine, be bnt little hope. Of all places that I 



A SLUGGISH GROWTH. 169 

know it is the most ungainly and the most unsatis- 
factory. I fear I must also add the most pre- 
sumptions in its pretensions." He seems to have 
had the sad experience of muddying his breeches 
on Massachusetts Avenue, which excited his bile to 
an amusing extent. Trollope concludes his con- 
demnation after the fashion of the black-capped 
judge who, having passed sentence of death, extends 
to the hopeless culprit, the cold comfort of his per- 
sonal commiseration : '' Desirous of praising it in 
some degree, I can say that the design is grand. 
The thing done, however, falls so infinitely short 
of the design that nothing but disappointment is 
felt. And I fear that there is no look-out into " 
(the case is so extremely bad that the literary 
critic evidently considers that nothing short of the 
worst grammar will fit it) " the future which can 
justify the hope that the design will be fulfilled." 

But, although the Englishman was altogether 
astray in his prognostications, his observation seems 
not to have been at fault. Its results were cor- 
roborated by the Washington correspondent, 
'^ Gath," who writing of the same period said : 
^^ When the rebellion began the following was the 
appearance of the city : Xot one street was paved 
for any great consecutive distance ; there was not 
a street car in the city ; the Capitol was without a 
dome and the new wings were filled with workmen. 
No fire department worthy of the name was to be 



170 WASHINGTON. 

seen, and a mere constabulary comprised tlic po- 
lice, which had to call on the United States marines, 
as in 1857, when the latter fired upon a mob and 
killed and wounded a large number of people. The 
water supply was wholly afforded by "pumps and 
springs. Gas had been in partial use for several 
years, but little else Avas lighted except Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue and the public buildings. . . . 
Nearly one half of the city was cut olf from the 
rest by a ditch and called the Island, while an in- 
tervening strip of mall and park was patrolled by 
outlaws and outcasts, with only a bridge here and 
there for outlet. The riverside was a mass of 
earthen l)luf^'s pierced by two streets, and scarcely 
attainable f(»r mire and obstructions. Georgetown 
communicated with the Capitol by an omnibus line, 
and there was no ferry to Alexandria to be remem- 
])ere(l as such, except in the sensitive traditions of 
the ohlcst residents. ... In short, the city 
was relatively in embryo as much as when l\roore, 
WcM, Janson and Basil Hall described it early 
in tlic century." 

Nor did the change of sentiment towards the na- 
tional capital that was evinced after the Civil War 
by the ])eo])le and their representatives, show very 
marked results for some time. After the close of 
the great conflict, the Atlntitic Monthly -jironounced 
the city " a ])aradise of paradoxes, a great, little, 
splendid, mean, extravagant, poverty-stricken bar- 



A SLUGGISH GROWTH. 171 

rack for soldiers of fortune and votaries of folly." 
Emile Molinienx, in 1871:, said it was a strange 
scattering of pompous monuments and very simple 
houses and an American writer, at the same time, 
described it as " the most disappointing, dis- 
heartening, conglomerate that ever shocked the 
pride or patriotism of order-loving, beauty worship- 
ing woman." 

The introduction of the railroad and of the tele- 
graph brought the capital into closer touch w^ith the 
people at large and destroyed the idea of its re- 
moteness which had prevailed in our outlying west- 
ern territor}^ During the heart-rending years of 
the fratricidal struggle between North and South, 
the eyes of the nation w^ere constantly fixed upon 
Washington, as the 2:)oint d'appui in one case and 
the point d'attaque in the other. The War closed 
Avithout finding Southerners embittered against 
Washington, Avhich lay wdthin their geographical 
bounds and for wdiich they have always entertained 
a kindly feeling. Thus it came about that the en- 
tire country began to look upon this national center 
as a common heritage and the focal point of its 
unity. But the spirit of pride and the sense of 
possession, thus aroused, w^as slow in making its 
effect felt upon the city. The national legislators 
continued to neglect its interests and left the bur- 
den of improvement to be borne by the residents 
and they — contracting a heavy debt in doing so 



172 WASI^^XTTON. 

— contrived, at least, to keep Washington in the 
procession of municipal progress. With the pas- 
sage of time, liowever, a stronger sentiment devel- 
oped and has grown until now there is evidenced 
in our most distant States something of the feeling 
that ])rompted the proud boast, '' Civis Romanus 
siiiii!" of the dweller in an outlying province of 
the great Koman Empire. 

In response to the changed attitude of the public 
towards the national capital. Congress awoke to a 
realization of its obligations. The Act of June, 
1878, which provided '^ a permanent form of gov- 
ernment," also imposed upon the nation liability 
for one-half the expenses legitimately incurred by 
the District. This measure, whilst extending 
tardy justice to the city, did not go as far as reason 
and equity demanded. 

Tlie support rendered the residents of Washing- 
ton hy Congress, after their seventy-eight years of 
unaided effort, soon made itself felt in the progress 
of the city. The change which had been effected 
in 1888, was thus described by Mr. Theodore W. 
Xoyes in the Washington Star: '^ In place of a 
straggling country village, with zig-zag grades, no 
sewerage, unimproved resen^ations, second-rate 
dwellings, streets of mud and mire, and wretched 
sidewalks, the modern Washington has arisen a 
political, scientific, and literary center, with a popu- 
lafi«.ii tr(l)l<'(l since 1860; a city sustained, im- 



A SLUGGISH GROWTH. 173 

proved and adorned by an annual expenditure of 
more than four million dollars; with surface re- 
modeled; with an elaborate and costly system of 
sewers and water mains; with about 150 miles of 
improved streets, nearly one-half of which are 
paved with concrete ; with convenient transportation 
by 33 miles of street railway; with numerous 
churches and schools, as well as government build- 
ings of architectural pretensions ; with broad streets 
shaded for a distance of 280 miles by more than 
60,000 trees, destined to make Washington a forest 
city ; with attractive suburban drives ; Avith reserva- 
tions and parkings given a picturesque beauty by 
shrubbery and rich foliage, statuary, fountains and 
flowers, and with costly private dwellings, rivaling 
palaces in size and splendor of interior adornment 
springing up in rapid succession where Trollope 
sank knee-deep in mud. This wonderful change 
for the better, effected by certain wise and energetic 
agents of the general government whom the Dis- 
trict delights to honor, is the result, in part, of a 
reversal of the conditions which hampered the city's 
growth. Congress, no longer hostile, or indifferent 
concerning the pecuniary needs of the District, has 
spent large sums not only upon public buildings, 
but also in the improvement of the city, at first 
spasmodically, since 1878 systematically. The 
people of the District, encouraged by the general 
abandonment of the idea of a removal of the seat of 



174 WASHINGTON. 

governiiioiit, have also made extensive outlays. But 
the main public expense of the work of recreating 
the city is represented by a present debt of more 
than $20,000,000, nearly all of which has been in- 
curred by officials placed over the affairs of the 
District by the general government in carrying out 
those ^ magnificent intentions ' concerning the capi- 
tal, which by the original plan, the nation and not 
the l)i>tri('t was to execute." 

The f(>regoing statement is quoted with the de- 
sign of marking a stage in the development of the 
City of Washington. It by no means describes the 
present condition of the capital. Since the date at 
which it was written, and more especially since the 
centennial celebration of 1900, Washington has 
made wonderful advance towards its ultimate posi- 
tion, which will be that of the most beautiful and. 
the most magnificent city in the world. A separate 
chai)ter is devoted to the recent improvements and 
the contemplated changes. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

WASHINGTON IN WAR TIMES. 

Twice in its history — at times separated by 
half a century — Washington has been the focns of 
a war and the actual object of an enemy's attack. 
The former occasion steeped the nation and the 
city in gloomy disgrace and strained to the break- 
ing point their slender bonds. From the latter 
struggle the country and its capital emerged tri- 
umphant and knit together for all time. 

In the early summer of 1814 the Administration 
received explicit warning of the impending assault. 
Albert Gallatin wrote from London — whither he 
had been sent in the hope of securing peace — that 
the British Government had ordered a force of sev- 
eral thousand veteran troops and a score of ships 
of war to be despatched from the Bermudas. This 
reinforcement was to make a junction with Admiral 
Cockburn's fleet in Chesapeake Bay and resume 
hostilities. That the attack would be in the nature 
of a raid and that it would be made upon some 
point near the rendezvous was the general belief 
but there was serious disagreement as to the pre- 

175 



170 WASHINGTON. 

rise locality tliroatened. ]\raiiv snrniised witli 
reason that the British wouhl aim at the capital, 
the defenseless state of which could not be un- 
known to them. Those who held this view argued 
that, whilst Washington offered little attraction in 
I he way of plunder, the moral effect of its capture 
would be a weighty consideration with an invader. 
The President and his Cabinet refused to enter- 
tain the idea. General Armstrong, the Secretary 
of War, scouted it as absurd and, on his advice, 
supported by that of Colonel Monroe, Madison 
made hardly any preparation to defend the capital 
from the onslaught that ensued. 

Fort Washington was strengthened without ex- 
tending its effectiveness landward and General 
Winder was ap]iointed to the command of a mili- 
tary district created for the occasion that embraced 
the State of ^Tarvland, including the ^' ten sqmire 
miles," and a ])()rtion of northern Virginia. When 
Winder took conunand on the 2Gth of June, he 
found that the entire force at his disposal con- 
sistcil (d' two fragments of regular regiments num- 
bering about 1i\'e hundred. Aside from these, there 
were ncithci- men nor munitions on hand. Thir- 
teen regiments of militia had been drafted and the 
General proposed to arm, mobilize, and drill them 
but, with fatuous disregard of his pleas, the Ad- 
niinisii'ation determined that they ^^hould not be 
called out until the last moment. 



WASHINGTON IN WAR TIMES. 177 

About the middle of August, the enemy, having 
effected the contemplated organization, opened hos- 
tilities by moving against Commodore Barney's 
flotilla of gunboats which had taken refuge in the 
Patuxent. Barney was ordered to destroy his ves- 
sels, which he did by burning them. He then 
marched his sailors and marines, with a few guns 
that he had contrived to mount, across the peninsula 
and joined Winder's command. 

Secretary Armstrong still maintained his opinion 
that Baltimore was the objective of the British and 
that there was no need for alarm as to the safety 
of the capital. Winder, himself, believed that 
Annapolis was the point aimed at, and others 
reached yet different conclusions. Meanwhile Col- 
onel Monroe had gone on a reconnaissance and on 
the 23d of August a despatch was received from 
him stating that the enemy were marching in force 
upon the city. He concluded with the disquieting 
advice to ''have the material ready to destroy the 
bridges " and to '' remove the records." 

When this alarming intelligence became public 
the city was thro^\^l into turmoil. The removal of 
the women and children began, valuables were hid- 
den and old arms were furbished. The preceding 
supineness gave place to feverish activity which, 
for want of intelligent direction, altogether lacked 
effectiveness. At this time. General Wilkinson 
tendered advice which, had it been taken, might 
12 



178 WASHINGTON. 

have averted the disaster. lie suggested tliat the 
roads over which the eiieiiiv must advance should 
be obstructed and mobile bodies of troops detached 
in different directions to harass his flanks and rear. 
The route of the British Avas over ground that lent 
itself admirably to guerilla tactics and there is 
every reason to believe that by the adoption of 
Wilkinson's plan they might have been turned back, 
if not cut up and put to flight. But here again, 
Armstrong, the evil genius of the situation, pre- 
vailed with counsel that reflects little credit on his 
militar)' reputation. 

The advice of the Secretary of War to General 
W^inder, which was practically in the nature of a 
command, was as follows: 

'' I would assemble my force in the enemy's front, 
fall quietly back to the Capitol, giving only that 
degree of resistance that invites a pursuit. When 
arrived in its front I would immediately put in 
battle my twenty pieces of artillery, give the direc- 
tion and management of these to Baniey and 
Peters, fill the upper part of the building and the 
adjacent buildings with infantry, regulars and 
militia, amounting to 5,000 men, while my 300 
cavalry held themselves in reserve for a charge the 
moment a recoil appeared in the British columns of 
attack/' 

The affair of Bladensburc: — it does not deserve 



WASHINGTON IN WAK TIMES. 179 

the style of ^' battle " — is not pleasant to dwell 
upon. It was not the fault of the men, but of their 
superiors, that the defense ended in a fiasco which 
excited the derision of their ovm. countrymen. The 
gallant stand made by the small bodies under Bar- 
ney, Magruder and Peters, after the main force 
had broken and fled, showed what might have been 
done had the troops been handled with ability. 
When Winder drew uj) his 6,000 men in the face 
of the British, he had formed no definite plan of 
action, he lacked confidence in his troops, and he 
was confused and embarrassed by the conflicting 
counsel of the superfluous generals who encumbered 
the field of action. Wilkinson tells us that the 
President busied himself in penciling despatches 
to his wife at Washington until the advance line 
of the enemy came in sight, when he turned to his 
companions saying : " Come, General Armstrong ; 
come. Colonel Monroe, let us go, and leave it to 
the commanding general." Winder had been bet- 
ter for their absence when he was making his prep- 
arations, but' having come upon the field, it was 
a pity they left it at the very time when their 
presence might have proved of some benefit by 
affording moral support to the soldiery. As it was, 
their carriage driving away at the first moment of 
the appearance of the enemy must have suggested 
flight to the troops who lost no time in following 



ISO WASHINCiTON. 

tlicir (*.\inii|tl('. A Xew York journal concluded a 
satirical account of the affair with the following 
])arodv of Scott's lines: 

"Fly, Monroe, Hy! Kuii, Armstrong, run! 
Wore the last words of Madison." 

Staved only by the scanty rearguard, which in- 
flicted greater loss upon the British, in proportion 
to the numbers engaged, than they had ever before 
sustained in battle. General Ross's army moved on 
to the Capitol, which it found undefended. The 
sun was sinking, as the redcoats, first firing a suc- 
cession of volleys into the windows, set fire to the 
building and its combustible contents. There is a 
story current, which has been handed down from 
one to the next writer on the subject Avithout a 
break, to the effect that this barbarous proceeding- 
was rendered doubly disgraceful by a mock parlia- 
mentary session at which Admiral Cockburn pre- 
sided and at which General Ross was present. 
Having a few years ago, gained by chance a some- 
Avhat intimate knowledge of the character of the 
gallant soldier and accomplished gentleman, who 
served with distinction in the war against Xapoleon, 
my sus})icion of the truth of this story was aroused 
and T decided to investigate it. Painstaking in- 
quiry, wliich embraced correspondence with many 
descendants of the principal characters involved, 
failccl to educe one iota of evidence in support of 
it. On tlie contrary, it is in conflict with several 



WASHINGTON IN WAR TIMES. 181 

circumstantial accounts written at the time by 
actors in the affair. 

Before the flames of the Capitol arose to accentu- 
ate their fears, the people of Washington had heen 
panic-stricken by the sight of the fleeing militia 
which passed hurriedly through the city in small 
bodies making their way to their homes in Virginia 
and Maryland. All who could do so made haste to 
abandon the doomed capital. The streets were 
crowded with wagons, horses and human beings, 
streaming toward the bridges that crossed the river. 
The event proved, however, that the citizens might 
with safety have remained in their homes for, with 
the exception of the plant of the National Intelli- 
gencer, the invaders respected the persons and prop- 
erty of private individuals. The Intelligencer was 
deemed beyond the pale of consideration because 
Joseph Gales, its proprietor, was an Englishman by 
birth. 

During the night of the 24th and the morning 
of the following day, the torch was applied to all 
the Government buildings but the War Office, which 
for some inexplicable reason was spared. The 
"■ President's Palace," as General Ross styles it in 
his official report, was the first prey of the flames. 
Any further acts of destruction that might have 
been contemplated were frustrated by the terrific 
hurricane that swept over the desolate city on the 
afternoon of the 25th. Thirty of the invaders were 



182 WASHINGTON. 

killed by falling houses during the storm and about 
as many more had been l)lown up a few hours 
previous by an explosion at the Navy Yard. 

The utterly defenseless condition in which the 
city had been left and some rumors of an approach- 
ing army that were probably set afloat with design, 
led the enemy to suspect that a trap had been laid 
for it. With this idea the commanders of the ex- 
pedition made a hasty retreat on the night of the 
25th, taking all the horses and vehicles that could 
be found for the conveyance of as many as possible 
of their wounded. Many of the most seriously 
injured were left at Bladensburg to be cared for 
by the Americans. 

It is a satisfaction to know that the vandalism 
of the British troops on this occasion aroused the 
utmost indignation in Great Britain. Their action 
was condemned in the warmest terms by the press 
and upon the floor of the House of Connnons, where 
it was characterized as no less futile than disgrace- 
ful. But condemnation of the invaders should bo 
tempered with a remembrance of the fact that they 
were not without some justification in the burning 
of the parliament house at York and the <lestruc- 
tion of Newark during the campaign in Canada, 
the previous year. 

W^ith the exception of the gallant stand made by 
the second line at Bladensburg, Mrs. Madison's ad- 
ventures form the only pleasing feature of this 



WASHINGTON IN WAK TIMES. 183 

liumiliating story. Her experiences are best told 
in her own words, addressed to her sister in the 
form of a diarian letter commenced upon the 23d 
of August. 

''' Dear Sister : My husband left me yesterday 
morning to join General Winder. He inquired 
anxiously whether I had courage to remain in the 
Presidential house till his return, and on my assur- 
ance that I had no fear but for him and the success 
of our army, he left me, beseeching me to take care 
of myself and of the Cabinet papers, public and 
private. I have since received two despatches from 
him, written Avith pencil. The last is alarming, 
because he desires that I should be ready at a mo- 
ment's notice to enter my carriage and leave the 
city ; that the enemy seemed stronger than had been 
reported, and that it might happen that they would 
reach the city with intention to destroy it. . . . 
I am accordingly ready. I have pressed as many 
Cabinet papers into trunks as to fill one carriage. 
Our private property must be sacrificed, as it is 
impossible to procure wagons for its transportation. 
I am determined not to go myself until I see Mr. 
Madison safe, and he can accompany me, as I hear 
of much hostility towards him. . . . Disaffec- 
tion stalks around us. . . . My friends are all 
gone; even Colonel C, with his hundred men, who 
WTre stationed as a guard in this enclosure. French 
John (a faithful servant), with his usual activity 



184 WASHINGTON. 

nud resolution, offers to spike the cannon at the 
ii-atc, and to lav a train of powder which would 
blow up the British should they enter the house. 
To the last projoosition I positively object, without 
being able, however, to make him understand why 
all advantage in war may not be taken. 

" Wednesday morning, twelve o'clock. — Since 
sunrise I have been turning my spy-glass in every 
direction, and watching with wearied anxiety, hop- 
ing to discern the approach of my dear husband 
and his friends ; but, alas ! I can descry only groups 
of military wandering in all directions, as if there 
were a lack of arms or spirit to fight for their own 
firesides ! 

^' Three o'clock. — Will you believe it, my dear 
sister, we have had a battle or skirmish near Bla- 
densburg, and I am still here within sound of the 
cannon ! Mr. Madison comes not. May God pro- 
tect him ! Two messengers, covered with dust, 
come to bid me flee; but 1 wait for him. . . . 
At this hour a wagon has been procured; I have 
had it filled with the plate and most valuable porta- 
ble articles belonging to the house. Whether it 
will reach its destination, the Bank of Maryland, 
(u* fall into the hands of the British soldiery, events 
must determine. Our good friend, Mr. Carroll, 
has come to hasten my departure, and he is in a 
very bad humor with me, because I insist on wait- 
ing until the large picture of General Washington 



WASHINGTON IN WAK TIMES. 185 

is secured, and it requires to be unscrewed from 
the wall. This process was found too tedious for 
these perilous moments ; I have ordered the frame 
to be broken and the picture taken out. It is done 
and the precious portrait is placed in the hands of 
tw^o gentlemen of Xew York for safe keeping. 
And now, dear sister, I must leave this house, or 
the retreating army will make me a prisoner in it, 
by filling up the road I am directed to take. 
. . . Where I shall be to-morrow I cannot tell." 

Assured that her husband was beyond danger 
and satisfied of the safety of Steuart's portrait of 
the first President, the mistress of the White House 
entered a carriage and started for Georgetown. 
She had not gone far, when she learned that the 
President had returned to Washington and so re- 
traced her way. Xot far from the White House, 
Mrs. Madison met her husband who, like herself, 
was in search of a place of refuge, for no hope was 
entertained of staying the British advance upon 
the city. Together with an escort of friends they 
crossed the river to the Virginia shore. Here, 
after agreeing to meet at a small tavern, some miles 
distant, on the following day, they parted again. 
Mrs. Madison spent the night of Wednesday, at 
the home of a friend, sadly watching the flames 
rising from many points in the capital. 

With the first streak of dawn, the courageous 
woman set out for the place where she was to meet 



1S6 WASHINGTON. 

the President. The roadway was so crowded v/ith 
refugees and their belongings that the carriage in 
which Mrs. Madison rode could proceed no faster 
than a footpace and many times was brought to a 
standstill. ^More than once the wife of the Presi- 
dent was obliged to make personal appeal to the 
crowd to allow her to proceed. For the most part, 
the throng was composed of terror-stricken negroes 
and coarse Avhites who paid little heed to the lady's 
])leadings until her identity was discovered when 
insult and invective were heaped upon her head 
by the impassioned creatures who believed her hus- 
band to be the cause of their misfortune. 

It was late in the afternoon when ]\Irs. ^Madison, 
anxious and exhausted, reached the rendezvous. 
The President had not arrived and the occupants of 
the place, which was crowded, moved by the same 
sentiments that had induced the people along the 
road to curse her, refused to permit the wearied 
woman to enter. So she sat in her carriage on the 
roadway until the breaking of the hurricane com- 
pelled the angry fugitives to give her shelter. 

At- nightfall President ^ladison and a few friends 
reached the tavern, hungry and on the verge of 
physical breakdown. They were fed and at once 
sought needed rest in such poor beds as the place 
afforded. At midnight, however, they w^re up and 
away again at the instance of a message to the 



WASIIIXGTOX IX WAR TIMES. 187 

effect that the enemy had discovered the President's 
retreat and were in pursuit of him. Eiding into 
the forest for some miles, Madison and a companion 
came upon a secluded hut in which they spent the 
remainder of the night. 

Acting on the instructions of her husband, Mrs. 
^ladison assumed a disguise and, accompanied by 
two men, abandoned her carriage and fled towards 
the interior of the State. In the course of the day, 
a courier overtook the party with the glad tidings 
that the invaders had left the capital and were 
marching back to their ships. Mrs. Aladison now 
made her way with all possible speed to the Long 
Bridge but on arrival that was found to be burned 
completely away. The officer in charge of the 
ferry was persuaded only with difficulty that the 
ill-clad countrywoman who demanded passage was 
the wife of the President. 

The White House was, of course, not habitable 
and Mrs. Madison, on arriving in the city went to 
the home of her sister, Mrs. Cutts, and there 
awaited the return of the President, who joined 
her the following: da v. The official residence was 
then established in the well-known Octagon House, 
at the corner of Xew York Avenue and Eighteenth 
Street, then the property of Colonel Tayloe and 
now occupied by the American Institute of Archi- 
tects. Later the President's household moved to 



188 WASHIXGTOX. 

the house at the northwest corner of Pennsylvania 
Avenue and Xineteenth Street and there remained 
until the White House was renovated. 

Xearlj a half-century passed before the '' stem 
alarums '' of '' grim-visaged war " again disturbed 
tlio nation's capital. 

As the date approached for tlie inauguration of 
].incoln, tense excitement and nervous apprehension 
pervaded Wasliington. For some time previous, 
rinnors had been afloat concerning contemplated at- 
tempts against the life of the prospective president 
and it was generally believed that a conspiracy of 
Southern sympathizers existed to prevent his reach- 
ing the capital. The city was by no means the 
stronghold that it afterwards became. The sym- 
pathies of its inhabitants were divided. At this 
time companies of secessionists drilled openly in 
the city and looked for a favorable opportunity to 
strike a blow at the Government. Foiled by the 
stringent measures that were taken for the protec- 
tion of public property and the preservation of 
])eaco, they disbanded and, for the most part, went 
south. The Chief of Police, Captain Dudding- 
ton, was a Southerner who later held a commission 
in the Confederate army, but who, up to the moment 
of resigning his position under the Government, 
perfonnod his duties with honorable exactitude, 
and during the ensuing inauguration, exercised the 
greatest care for the safety of the President. 



WASHINGTON IN WAK TIMES. 189 

Abraham Lincoln arrived at the old Pennsyl- 
vania station in Washington at half past six o'clock 
of the morning of February the 23d, 1861. Ac- 
companied only by Colonel Lamon, who was sub- 
sequently Marshal of the District of Columbia, the 
President-elect had left Harrisburg secretly the 
night before on a special train. He w^as met at the 
station by Representative Washburne of Illinois 
and driven in a hack to AVillard's Hotel, where Sen- 
ator Seward aw^aited him. The tall, gaunt figure 
and homely face that afterwards became so familiar 
to the people of Washington, passed unnoticed on 
that bleak w^inter's morning. 

A few days later, the city fathers, having taken 
farewell of President Buchanan, paid their re- 
spects to Mr. Lincoln at his hotel. The occasion is 
memorable as being that of his introduction to the 
citizens of the capital and for another reason w^hich 
he emphasized in a short speech responsive to the 
greeting of Mayor Wallach. It was, said the man 
wdio was about to grasp the uncertain reins of gov- 
ernment, the very first time since the existing phase 
of politics had been presented to the country, that 
it had happened to him to speak publicly in a 
locality where the institution of slavery was main- 
tained. He w^as glad of the opportunity, he de- 
clared, to state that he entertained for the people 
of this- region the same kindly feelings that he 
cherished for his neighbors and that it w^as not his 



100 WASHINGTON. 

purpose to treat them otherwise than if tliey were 
inhabitants of his own section of the country. In 
conclusion, he said : '' When we shall become bet- 
ter acquainted, — and I say it with great confidence, 
— we shall like each other the more." 

The preparations for the inauguration were made 
under the directions of General Scott. The inter- 
ruption of the procession at any point was carefully 
guarded against. The space immediately in front 
of the platform from which the President was to 
deliver his address, had been fenced and a passage 
was inclosed in stout boards from the point where 
he would leave his carriage to the entrance of the 
Capitol. Troops stood to their arms throughout the 
day at several points of the city. 

Senators Baker and Pearce rode in the carriage 
with the in-coming President and his predecessor. 
The entire party looked grave but Lincoln's calm- 
ness was in marked contrast with the excitement ex- 
hibited by the crowd. The apprehensions of the 
authorities were reflected in the military arrange- 
ments. The carriage was surrounded by such a 
dense escort of cavalry as almost to hide it from 
the view of those upon the street and practically to 
preclude the possibility of a shot reaching it, except 
from a distant elevation. 

When the President reached the platform at the 
east front of the Capitol, with Senator Baker at his 
side, the latter cried: '' Fellow-citizens ! I intro- 



WASHINGTON IN WAR TIMES. 191 

cluce to you, Abraham Lincoln, President-elect of 
the United States." The announcement was 
greeted with repeated cheers followed bv a pro- 
found silence which was maintained throughout the 
reading of the Inaugural Address. The thirty 
thousand auditors seemed to be deeply impressed 
with the unusual solemnity of the occasion and their 
upturned faces reflected the fears, and hopes, and 
doubts that moved their minds. The central figure 
of that impressive gathering was preternaturally 
calm. In the stillness that succeeded the hysterical 
huzzas, he stood for a few moments gravely survey- 
ing the throng. Then he laid his manuscript upon 
the table and drew from a pocket a pair of steel- 
bound spectacles which he adjusted with delibera- 
tion and proceeded to the reading of the address, 
using his gold-headed cane as a paper weight, the 
while. The speech was delivered in a clear, firm 
voice which took on a tinge of emotion as he ut- 
tered the following impromptu conclusion : 

^^ I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but 
friends. We must not be enemies. Though pas- 
sion may have strained, it must not break our bonds 
of affection. The mystic cords of memory, stretch- 
ing from every battle-field and patriot grave to 
every living heart and hearthstone all over this 
broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, 
when again touched, as surely they will be, by 
the better angels of our nature." 



192 WASHINGTON. 

When the speaker dropped his hands upon the 
table and slightly bowed his head in what looked 
like a silent benediction, a long-drawn sigh relieved 
tlie pent emotions of his hearers and then a shont 
r.f applause broke forth. To the sound of cannon 
in salute and the music of military bands, the pro- 
cession retraced its way along Pennsylvania Avenue 
to the White House, where a line of people waited 
to sbake hands with the President. It was at this 
point that the greatest danger of an attack existed, 
but those who were close to Lincoln saw, neither 
then nor at any other time in the day, the slightest 
disturbance of his profound composure. Citizens 
and officials were relieved when that day of appre- 
hension and excitement closed without untoward 
event. 

Port Sum tor surrendered on the 14th of April 
and on the following morning the President called 
u])<»n the country for seventy-five thousand volun- 
teers to defend the Government. Ten companies 
of I lie District militia had been mustered several 
days before on account of a report that Pen McCul- 
lough, the renowned Texas Panger, w^as moving to 
r;iid the city. Thus the District enjoys the en- 
viable distinction of having put the first volunteers 
into the field. Put from every quarter in the Xorth 
the a])])eal met with instant response and in ten 
days time twenty thousand troops were in Wash- 
ington. They continued to pour into the capit^il 



WASHINGTON IN WAK TIMES. 193 

until;, before the close of tlie year, one hundred and 
fifty thousand Avere encamped in and about it and 
twelve hundred guns guarded its approaches. 

But for several days following the President's 
proclamation serious anxiety was felt for the safety 
of the city. On the 19th of April, the Sixth Massa- 
chusetts, passing through Baltimore on its way to 
the capital, was attacked by a mob, who killed four 
members of the regiment and Avounded many. oth- 
ers. In order to prevent the passage of other troops 
through Baltimore, the people destroyed the rail- 
roads and telegraph lines in their vicinity and 
burned the bridges. Thus, on Saturday night, 
April the 21st, Washington found itself completely 
cut off from communication with the North. To 
add to the alarm created by this isolation, a rumor 
became current that a strong force of Confederates 
had been despatched from Kichmond against the 
capital. Women and children were hurriedly re- 
moved from the city and the most strenuous efforts 
were made to put it in a condition of adequate de- 
fense. The noise of wagon wheels, the tramp of 
marching feet and the beat of horse hoofs, to which 
the inhabitants later became quite accustomed, be- 
gan then to disturb their slumbers. 

In the city all classes rallied to the flag and vol- 
unteer corps were quickly formed, armed and drilled 
incessantly. The Frontier Guards, under Cassius 
M. Clay of Kentucky and the City Battalion, com- 
13 



194 WASHINGTON. 

)iiaii<l('(l l>y James 11. Lane of Kansas, were or- 
ganized in a few days and assigned to the duty of 
guarding the White House. Employees of the 
Treasury raised a regiment among themselves for 
its defense. Nor was age a deterrent, for many of 
those exempt from the draft on that account formed 
a company, called with proud significance the Silver 
Grays. 

False alarms and wild rumors constantly agi- 
talcil the p()i)ulace and disturhed the officials who 
had no means of ascertaining the approach of relief 
until it was actually in sight. Even the Presi- 
dent's hahitual equanimity was more than once 
hrokon during those trying days. It was with the 
wihlc'st enthusiasm that the people Avelcomed the 
weary and travel-stained Seventh New York, when 
they reached the city at noon on the 2r)th of the 
month. A few hours later, the Eighth Massachu- 
setts came in and the next morning, the First Ehodo 
Island. Thenceforth, excepting for the brief alarm 
occasioned by Early's dash at the capital, no acute 
fear was experienced for its safety. 

The city soon became a huge military camp. 
Troo})s were quartered in the Capitol and other 
p\d)lic Imildings. Tents rose on every hand and 
hos])itals increased until they exceeded seventy in 
iiuiiilxT. Wasliington iKH'ame ringed around with 
forts which, before the close of the war thickly 
dotted tlic cufirc "ten miles square." The capital 



WASHINGTON IN WAK TIMES. 195 

was, of course under military government from the 
outset. Sentries were posted at many points and 
patrols traversed the streets. A strict press censor- 
ship was maintained during the first year and bad 
news was suppressed or modified. x\n extensive 
secret detective service was organized under Colonel 
Baker and constant work w^as found for it in Wash- 
ington for, from the outbreak of the conflict until 
the assassination of Lincoln, spies and traitors Avere 
ever present in the city. Strangers in large num- 
bers thronged to the capital after every battle, 
searching the hospitals for friends or relatives and 
pestering the authorities ^vith inquiries and requests 
that it was seldom possible to satisfy. Office-seek- 
ers and petitioners of all sorts infested the Depart- 
ments and besieged the White House. The iron 
man at the war office gave a cold reception to all 
supplicants, but the humblest and least w^orthy never 
failed of kind and sympathetic treatment from the 
head of the nation. Lincoln was the easiest official 
to approach in those days and no matter how press- 
ing or important the business on his hands, he would 
find time to hear the story of some poor woman in 
distress or to read the papers in the case of a pri- 
vate soldier condemned to death. W^hilst few of- 
ficials could stoop to consideration of the minor 
incidents of war, their chief never forgot that the 
common people furnished the bulk of the material 
with which to prosecute it and bore the greater 



106 WASHINGTON. 

share uf its hardships. ]No chapter of his life is 
more appealing and characteristic than that which 
relates to the numerous acts of mercy and justice 
that he performed during this period. 

On the 17th of Julv, the first army of the North 
was sent against the enemy, then entrenched along 
the banks of Bull Run, about thirty-five miles south- 
west of Washington. In the city, the outcome of 
this opening encounter was awaited with the utmost 
anxiety. At length, toward nine o'clock on the 
evening of the 21st, an army correspondent arrived 
with the first news. According to his report, Mac- 
IJowell had gained a victory. But the rejoicings 
were short-lived. The correspondent had left the 
field before the termination of the engagement and 
Inter tidings disproved his conclusion. About half 
an hour before midnight, a hack deposited the next 
arrivals from the battlefield at the Metropolitan — 
then Brown's — Hotel. To the few listeners who 
were about at that hour, they told a different story. 
The North had sustained a defeat. 

Several newspaper correspondents had already 
tiled the previous report with extensive details. 
The censor refused to permit the contradiction to 
go over the wires and so the false news of victory 
was published throughout the N'orth. The people 
of Washingtou went to their beds cheered by the 
carlv news of the eveninii" and awoke to find the 



WASHINGTON IN WAK TIMES. 197 

defeated army streaming in disorder into the city 
by way of the Long Bridge. 

It was now perceived that the aggressive move- 
ment had been premature. Thorough preparation 
was determined upon. General McClellan was ap- 
pointed to the chief command. The army Avas re- 
organized, the troops were drilled and forts and 
earthworks were erected on the Virginia side of the 
Potomac. The anxiety that had prevailed in Wash- 
ington for several weeks gradually gave way to re- 
newed confidence. 

At the inception of the war, the United States 
Sanitary Commission was organized by private en- 
terprise to " direct inquiries to the principles and 
practices connected with the inspection of recruits 
and enlisted men, the sanitary condition of the vol- 
unteers, to secure the general comfort and efficiency 
of the troops, and provide cooks, nurses, etc., for th.^ 
hospitals. '^ Its services were gladly accepted by 
the Government and proved to be of inestimable 
value. It had- agents with the annies in the field 
and at every military depot in the North. In 
Washington, the association maintained a soldiers' 
retreat, several model hospitals, and a number of 
lodging houses. Assistance of every description 
was extended to the soldiers and they were pro- 
tected against the numerous sharpers who made 
Washington their headquarters. Similar and 



198 WASHINGTON. 

equally good work was done by the United States 
Christian Commission. 

Exactly one year after the draft proclamation, 
Congress passed an act providing for the liberation 
of all slaves held in the District of Columbia, thus 
anticipating the general Emancipation Act wdiich 
was proclaimed five months later. The law apply- 
ing to the District made provision for the compen- 
sation of owners. The terms of the Act Avere to be 
carried out as speedily as possible and three com- 
missioners were appointed to determine the various 
indemnities. The business occupied nearly nine 
months and was barely concluded before Lincoln's 
famous Emancipation Proclamation Avent into ef- 
fect. The commissioners hold their sessions daily 
at the City Hall, assisted by an expert slave dealer 
in the capacity of appraiser. During the progress 
of the examination, a crowd of vociferous negroes 
w^as constantly about the building and many dra- 
matic scenes and amusing incidents took place. 
Compensation was allowed to only such o\\Tiers as 
would take the oath of fealty to the Government. 
Very few refused to comply Avith this condition but 
a number of slaves w^ere liberated whose masters had 
left them in the care of others whilst they them- 
selves joined the Confederate Army. Xearly three 
thousand negroes w^ere set free in the District in 
compliance with this law at a cost to the Govern- 
iiiont a])proximnting one million of dollars. 



WASHINGTON IN WAE TIMES. 199 

As the conflict wore on, the people of Washing- 
ton fell into a state of phlegmatic calm Avhich was 
not easily disturbed. There did occur, however, 
two or three momentous events that wrought the 
populace up to the highest pitch of excitement. 
One of these was the threatened capture of the 
city in the summer of 1864. Grant was engaged 
in the operations against Petersburg and Richmond 
when General Jubal A. Early made his bold dash, 
through the Shenandoah Valley, at Washington. 
The capital at this time contained fewer than five 
thousand armed men and a large part of these were 
convalescents and the irregular corps of which men- 
tion has been made. There was no suspicion of 
danger and on the morning of July the 9th, the 
inhabitants were rudely awakened from their sense 
of security by the warning boom of cannon to the 
northward. Countrymen and couriers soon arrived 
with the alarming news that Early with an army 
of thirty thousand picked troops had crossed the 
Potomac and was contesting the passage of the 
Monocacy railroad bridge with General Lew Wal- 
lace who had something less than thirty-five hun- 
dred men at his disposal. 

It needed no military knowledge to realize that 
if Early gained the highroads that ran into Wash- 
ington from the point where Wallace opposed him, 
the capital was lost and there was no ground for 
hope that he would fail to do so. The authorities 



200 WASHINGTON. 

made i)re2)arations to defend the situation to the 
last, fearing above all other results of capture that 
Great Britain would recognize the Confederacy. 
Thirty-five hundred men on hospital duty were 
hastily formed into combatant corps. The Depart- 
ment clerks and other Government employees were 
anned and hurried to the line of defenses in the 
threatened quarter. Even the teamsters were 
mounted upon their draft horses and formed into 
a regiment after having drawn their wagons and 
other impedimenta to favorable spots and massed 
them as barricades. 

Towards the close of the day, anxiety Avas in- 
creased by the tidings that Wallace, after a gallant- 
stand, had been forced to retire. The approaches 
t(» Washington were now open to the enemy. The 
recently emancipated negroes displayed the wildest 
terror but an observer has recorded the impression 
made upon him by the composure and determina- 
tion displayed generally by the defenders. At this 
most acute crisis, they appeared to be prepared to 
give a good account of themselves and to make the 
most (»f what seemed to be a hopeless situation. 
Many of them had never discharged a fire-arm and 
they were confronted by a veteran foe but there 
was no dismay nor wavering visible in their ranks. 
Th(y had not the encouragement of knowing that 
reinforcements were approaching with all the speed 
at their command. But so it was, for Grant had 



WASHINGTON IN WAR TIMES. 201 

despatched the faiiiou^^ Sixth Corps and part of the 
Xineteenth to the relief of the capital. 

The Second Regiment of District ]\Iilitia held 
the line between Fort Stevens and Fort Slociim 
dnrine: the two days of Earlv's advance and tl 



'to 



lOU- 



sands of civilians, drawn by cnriosity and a desire 
to be near their relatives repaired to that point 
each day. There too, the President and Secretaries 
Stanton and Seward passed mnch time anxiously 
watching the developments of the situation. On 
the 11th, the enemy was within the District and 
before night had entrenched within a mile of Fort 
Stevens which stood a little to the northwest of the 
present site of Brightwood. Early's purpose was 
to mass his forces on the old Seventh Street Road 
which was the weakest place in the defenses. The 
city was already beleagured and everyone looked 
for an assault on the morrow. 

At four o'clock of that afternoon — not an hour 
too soon and when it would have been too late but 
for Wallace's stand — the relieving force swung 
into the streets of Washington and accompanied by 
a wildly exultant crowd continued its march through 
the city to the fighting line. The next morning, 
they attacked the enemy vigorously and before 
nightfall, Early's army was in full retreat. 

The Confederate capital fell on the fourth of 
April, 1865, and four days later, Lee surrendered 
and Grant turned towards Washington with his 



202 WASHINGTON. -• 

virlni'ious army. At the news of these events the 
|)e()])le ill the capital gave themselves up to unre- 
strained rejoicing. President Lincohi was then in 
tlie vSoiith. He returned to Washington on the 
10th of the month and a large crowd awaited him 
at tlie White House. In response to repeated calls 
for a speech, he appeared at an open window on 
the second floor, looking more serenely happy than 
any there had ever seen him. A correspondent who 
was ])resent on the occasion, has thus recorded his 
I'cmarks and tlie interjections of the crowd which 
was hrimming over with irrepressible good humor: 
" I am greatly rejoiced that an occasion has oc- 
curred, so pleasurable that the people can't restrain 
ihcmsclvcs. (Laughter and cheers.) I suppose 
that arrangements are being made for a formal 
demonstration, to-night or to-morrow night. (Cries 
of ^ We can't wait.') I shall have to respond. I 
shall have nothing to say then if I dribble it all out 
now. (Laughter.) I see you have a band of mu- 
sic with you. (A cry, 'We have two bands.') I 
propose fdi- closing up, that you will have them play 
the air called 'Dixie.' ('Agreed!') I have al- 
ways tli(juglit it was the best tune I ever heard. 
Onr adversaries over the way have attempted to 
a])pro])riate it as their own national air. T insisted, 
y(\sterday, that we had fairly captured it, and are 
entitled to it. 1 asked the opinion of the Attorney- 
General, and he states that we have lawfully cap- 



WASHINGTON IN WAR TIMES. 203 

tiired it, and that it was therefore ours. I now re- 
quest the band to play it." (Cheers.) 

The band played ''Dixie" which was greeted 
with hearty applause. The President then pro- 
Dosed '' three good, rousing cheers for Lieutenant- 
General Grant and all under his coniniand." The 
crowd responded with a will. Then Lincoln asked 
them to repeat the demonstration in favor of the 
^' gallant navy." 

On the loth, a general celebration was observed 
in the city. The occasion was observed as holiday 
and the populace gave itself up to merry-making. 
The White House, Capitol and other public build- 
ings were decorated with a profusion of flags and 
many private residences and business places hung 
bunting to the wdnd. Throughout the day, at in- 
tervals, the guns of the forts thundered in salute. 
At night there were bonfires and a general illumina- 
tion and an immense throng gathered in front of 
the White House to hear an address delivered by 
President Lincoln from the portico. Soldiers 
marched the streets in informal parade singing the 
songs that had become popular with the Army as 
march-tunes. On many a corner and other vantage 
point homely orators made patriotic speeches to 
easily-satisfied audiences. Music mingled with the 
shouts and cheers of the crowd. Enormous quan- 
tities of wine and spirits were consumed but, al- 
though many drunken men w^ere abroad, the gen- 



204 WASHINGTON. 

cral disposition towards jojoiisness would not 
permit of any trouble. The jubilation which had 
commenced on the 9th, continued until it was 
brought to an abrupt termination by the tragic event 
that cast a deep gloom over the city. 

Xo characteristic of Lincoln was more pro- 
nounced than his abounding charity. His last day 
on earth was marked by several exhibitions of this 
amiable trait. The newspapers of the city had an- 
nounced that on the evening of the 14tb, the Presi- 
dent and (Jeneral Grant would attend the perform- 
ance of " Our American Cousin/' in which Laura 
Keene was playing at Ford's. Every seat in the 
theater was booked at an early hour in anticipation 
of the presence of the two most honored men of the 
nation. 

^lembers of the household have said that Lincoln 
never seemed more cheerful and happy than he did 
that day. At the breakfast table he joked and 
chatted with his famil}^ after the maimer which 
they had almost forgotten since leaving their home 
ill Illinois. After the meal, Robert Lincoln gave 
them an account of his experiences in the Virginia 
('am])aign, through which he had served as aide-de- 
camp to General Grant. Later there was a Cabinet 
meeting at which the President earnestly impressed 
upon his advisers the desirability of clemency in 
dealing with the South. Secretary Welles, writing 
of that conference, says: "He hoped that there 



WASHINGTON IN WAK TIMES. 205 

would be no persecution, no bloody work, after the 
war was over. None need expect he Avould take 
any part in hanging or killing these men, even the 
worst of them. Frighten them out of the country, 
let down the bars, scare them off, said he, throw- 
ing up his hands as if scaring off sheep. Enough 
lives had been sacrificed. We must extinguish our 
resentment if we expect harmony and union. There 
Avas too much desire on the part of our very good 
friends to be masters, to interfere and dictate to 
those States, to treat the people not as fellow citi- 
zens; there was too little respect for their rights. 
He didn't sympathize in these feelings." 

In the afternoon, a telegram was received at the 
War Department from the provost-marshal at Port- 
land, Maine, which read as follows : '^ I have posi- 
tive information that Jacob Thompson will pass 
through Portland to-night in order to take a steamer 
for England. What are your orders ? " Thomp- 
son, at one time a member of Buchanan's Cabinet, 
had entered the Confederate service and during the 
latter part of the war had been employed in Canada 
as a diplomatic agent. Stanton's immediate order 
was to arrest the refugee but, probably calling to 
mind the strong expressions of the President, ut- 
tered but a few hours previous, decided to refer the 
matter to him before taking decisive steps. When 
Assistant Secretary Dana arrived at the White 
House with the telegram, he found the office closed 



206 WASHINGTON. 

and business over fur the day. Turning to retrace 
his steps, he was accosted by the President from 
an alcove in which he was washing his hands. 
'' Hallo, Dana ! " cried Lincoln, '' what's up now ? " 
Dana read the telegram. '' What did Stanton 
say ? '' asked the President. ^^ He ordered his ar- 
rest," replied Dana, " but said that the matter 
should be referred to you first. Sir." Lincohi 
rubbed his hands slowly with the towel whilst he 
gazed thoughtfully at the telegram. " Xo, Dana," 
he said at length, '^ I rather think not. When you 
have an elephant by the hind leg and he is trying 
to run away, it is best to let him go." And so 
Thompson was permitted to escape unhindered. 

The President then set out on his daily drive 
with his wife. They were generally alone on these 
occasions and made them the opportunities for mu- 
tual confidences and private conferences, for Lin- 
coln was in the habit of asking his wife's advice 
about the most important affairs. Mrs. Lincoln 
never forgot her husband's hopeful ])lans for the 
future, expressed as they drove out to the suburbs. 
'^ Mary," he said, '' we have had a hard time of it 
since we came to Washington ; but the war is over, 
and with God's blessing we may hope for four years 
of peace and happiness, and then we will go back to 
Illinois and pass the rest of our lives in quiet. We 
have laid by some money, and during this term, w^e 
will try and save up some more, but we shall not 



WASHINGTON m WAK TIMES. 207 

have enough to support us. We will go back to 
Illinois, and I will open a law office at Springfield 
or Chicago, and practice law, and at least do 
enough to give us a livelihood." 

The Spring evening was setting in when the Pres- 
ident returned to the White House. He found 
some old friends from his native State awaiting him 
and with them passed the time until summoned to 
dinner, dismissing them with an invitation to call 
again on the morrow. General and Mrs. Grant 
were to have dined with the Lincolns and after- 
wards to have accompanied them to the play-house 
but at the last moment the General's w^ife sent their 
excuses with the explanation that they were unex- 
pectedly called out of the city on urgent business. 
Thus one of the intended victims escaped the doom 
that had been planned for him. 

The party was already somewhat late for the the- 
ater when it rose from the table, but Lincoln lin- 
gered to exercise that never-failing spirit of mercy 
and kindness in a last official act. 

At the opening of the war, two brothers named 
Vaughan, residents of Canton, Missouri, espoused 
opposite causes. Allmon enlisted in the Union 
Army, whilst George joined the Confederate forces. 
In course of time, the latter received a commission 
and was appointed to the staff of General Mark 
Green, an old-time friend and fellow townsman. 
After Shiloh, George Vaughan undertook a secret 



208 WASHINGTON. 

visit to Canton for the pnr})0SG of seeing bis family 
and carrying a message to the wife of his General. 
]Ie passed successfully through the enemy's lines, 
spent several days at his home and commenced the 
journey back to bis command. On his return, how- 
ever, he was discovered and captured. He was 
tried by court-martial and sentenced to be shot as a 
spy, although he protested his innocence of any 
sinister purpose and there was nothing but his pres- 
ence within the Union lines to be advanced against 
him. Allmon Vaughan, who was now a captain in 
the Xortlicrn army, made an effort to save bis 
brothers life and enlisted the interest of Senator 
John B. Henderson. Henderson appealed to Stan- 
ton, with no better effect than others had upon that 
man of adamant. The Senator then laid the case 
before Lincoln, who ordered a new trial. This re- 
sulted in another verdict of guilty. Again Lincoln 
was besought to intervene and again he instructed a 
new court-martial to sit. For the third time George 
Vaughan was sentenced to death but his friends did 
not despair. Richmond had fallen when Llender- 
son again sought the President in behalf of the con- 
demned Southerner and the impending close of the 
war lent an additional argument for clemency. 
'' Go to Stanton and tell him that this man must 
be reprieved," said Lincoln. ^' T have been to 
Stanton and he refuses to move in the matter," 
res])onde(l the Senator. "■ Go to him again," said 



Thomas Circle 



WASHINGTON IN WAE TIMES. 209 

the President, '' and if he still refuses, come back 
to me.'' On the evening of the 14th of April, Sen- 
ator Henderson, having failed of success in his in- 
terview with the Secretary of War, returned to the 
White House and found the President upon the 
point of setting out for Ford's. After hearing Sen- 
ator Henderson's report, Lincoln took pen and pa- 
per and with his own hand wrote an order for the 
unconditional release of George Yaughan. This 
was the last time that he wrote the well-known sig- 
nature. In a few minutes, he was on his way to the 
theater. 

Speaker Colfax was at the White House when 
the party left. To him the President spoke regret- 
fully of the engagement, saying that Mrs. Lincoln 
Avas not feeling at all well but that, as Grant could 
not be present, they must not altogether disappoint 
the people by absenting themselves. It was some- 
what later than half past eight when President and 
Mrs. Lincoln, accompanied by Miss Harris and 
Major Rathbun, who had been invited to occupy the 
seats designed for the Grants, made their way 
along the rear of the dress circle and entered the 
proscenium box on the second tier. The perform- 
ance was immediately interrupted whilst the orches- 
tra broke into '^ Hail to the Chief " and the audi- 
ence rose to its feet cheering and waving handker- 
chiefs. About an hour later and whilst the third 
act was in progress, Wilkes Booth, who was well- 
14 



210 WASHINGTON. 

kiiowii to lilt' attaches of the house and had the run 
of the place, made his way to the box occupied by 
the distinguished party and entered so quietly that 
none of them was attracted by his presence. Lin- 
coln leant forward in an armchair, intent upon the 
performance. Placing his pistol against the back 
of the President's head, the assassin fired. Major 
Kathbun immediately sprang to his feet and grap- 
pled with Booth, but reeled back under a blow from 
the dagger which the madman had drawn after drop- 
ping his pistol. Booth now stepped to the front of 
the box and faced the audience shouting in exultant 
tones, ''^ Sic semper tyrannis!" He then leapt to 
the stage but one of his spurs catching in some dec- 
orations, he was thrown heavily, breaking a bone of 
liis left leg. He rose quickly, however, and unim- 
peded by the horror-stricken actors, made his way 
behind tlie scenes and out of the building to the 
alley where a horse awaited him. 

The dying President was carried to the house of 
Mr. Peterson, across the way from the theater, 
where he lay unconscious until the end. 

The news of tlie dreadful tragedy spread through 
the city and environs with the utmost rapidity, 
^lounted messengers dashed off in every direction 
bearing the direful tidings; the telegraph warned 
the outlying ])osts of the catastrophe; men ran 
through the streets shouting excitedly and many 
stood in the |)ublic wavs and sobbed with hysterical 



WASHINGTON IN WAK TIMES. 211 

abandon. Drums called tlie troops to arms in the 
camps and fortifications. Church bells summoned 
the inhabitants to the streets. Cavalry patrols were 
soon in motion and military guards were posted at 
important points including the house in which the 
dying President lay and before which a crowd col- 
lected and remained until after the sad announce- 
ment of his passing. 

Terror was added to the excitement and sorrow 
of the people when it was learned that at about the 
time of the attack upon Lincoln, an attempt had 
been made upon the life of Secretary Seward who 
was confined to his bed by illness. The most ex- 
travagant rumors were set afloat and men's minds 
were filled with fear of a plot of wholesale assassi- 
nation. A correspondent, Avho was on the spot, has 
said: ^^ I can never forget the alarm and horror of 
that night. The streets were crowded with persons, 
talking over the startling and shocking events. It 
was feared that a wide-extended conspiracy existed, 
and it was not known where the stroke w^ould next 
fall. Thousands of persons feared to retire to their 
beds. Meantime, military guards were stationed 
throughout the city, and at the principal avenues of 
exit." 

At sunrise of the 19th of April, the forts began 
firing minute gims, reminding the inhabitants of 
the sorrow-stricken city that the funeral services of 
the man they had learned to know and love would 



212 WASHINGTON. 

])(" held that day. At an early hour a crowd gath- 
ered about the White House whither the remains 
of the shun President had been removed after his 
death. The buikling was draped in the insignia of 
mourning, as were the public offices ,and many pri- 
vate residences. The coffin reposed in the East 
Room, where the portraits upon the w^alls were hung 
about with black and white crape. 

After noon the services for the burial of the dead, 
according to the rites of the Episcopal Church, were 
performed by Bishop Simpson and Doctor Hall of 
the Church of the Epiphany, and Doctor Gurley, 
pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian 
Church which Lincoln had attended, delivered a 
funeral oration. Around the bier was gathered a 
distinguished company, including Andrew Johnson, 
his successor as President of the United States, the 
Justices of the Supreme Court, members of the 
Cabinet and of Congress, executive officers of the 
Government and other officials, generals of the 
army, representatives of foreign countries, and a 
number of prominent citizens from different parts 
of the country. 

At two o'clock, one of the many soul-stirring 
processions that have traversed Pennsylvania Av- 
enue, started from the Executive ]\ransion. Headed 
by a military escort a mile in length, marching to 
the wailing tones of the funeral dirge, which was 
accentuated by the measured discharge of cannon 



WASHINGTON IN WAR TIMES. 213 

and slowly-tolling bells, the column moved between 
lines of silent and bareheaded spectators, who filled 
the sidewalks in a dense mass. Immediately after 
the militia came the civic procession, with Marshal 
Lamon and the physicians who had attended the 
deceased at its head. Then followed the bier with 
its fifteen pall-bearers, selected from both branches 
of Congress, from the army and navy and from 
civil life. The funeral car was succeeded by a car- 
riage containing Eobert and " Tad," the sons of 
Abraham Lincoln, their mother being unequal to 
the public appearance. Behind the family and rel- 
atives, rode President Johnson, with two mounted 
ofiicers on either side. Then came carriages con- 
taining the members of the Supreme Court, those 
of the Diplomatic Corps, Senators and Kepresenta- 
tives, and various public officers. The rear of the 
procession was brought up by representatives of 
several societies, delegations from different parts of 
the country, a band of colored citizens and another 
military body. 

The entire procession was three miles in length 
and, moving at a funeral pace, took more than two 
hours to pass. Arrived at the Capitol, the body 
was placed in the center of the rotunda, which to- 
gether with the surmounting dome had been appro- 
priately draped. Here it lay in state for two days 
with a military guard and was then carried to 
Springfield, Illinois, for interment, following, as 



214 WASHINGTON. 

nearly as possible the route that had been taken by 
Lincoln in coming to the capital, and stopping at 
many cities on the way. 

A little more than a month after the funeral of 
Abraham Lincoln, an event occurred in striking 
contrast to it. Whilst one was the saddest and most 
solemn spectacle in the memory of the people of 
Washington, the other was the grandest and most 
inspiring sight they had ever witnessed. 

As the war gradually drew to a close with the 
surrender of one after another of the Confederate 
bodies during the month of April, the L'nion sol- 
diers thus released from service in the field were 
massed at various points preparatory to disband- 
ment. By the middle of ^lay, two hundred thou- 
sand men were encamped in the vicinity of Wash- 
ington, representing the Army of the Potomac, un- 
der General Meade, and the Division of the Missis- 
sippi, under General Sherman. It was decided to 
hold a grand review of these veteran troops before 
discharging them, the 23d and 24th days of the 
month being set for the purpose. 

The former day of the great pageant opened in 
balmy splendor, with such spring weather as is one 
of the attractions of Washington. Flags and bunt- 
ing decorated every building along Pennsylvania 
Avenue and many \n other parts of the city. 
Crowds of unusual density filled the city, for the 
review had been heralded far and wide in the news- 



WASHINGTON IN WAR TIMES. 215 

papers of the country and many thousands were at- 
tracted to the capital by it. The reviewing stand, 
flanked on either hand by extensions, had been 
erected on the broad sidewalk in front of the White 
House. Facing it on the other side of the street 
was another pavilion, designed for the accommoda- 
tion of members of Congress and visiting officials of 
various States. This inclosure was the midway 
point of a line of stands extending from Fifteenth 
to Seventeenth Streets. 

^' Let us witness the pageant from the reviewing 
stand. A brilliant company has gathered there. 
President Johnson occupies the center, with Lieu- 
tenant-General Grant seated beside him as review- 
ing officer. In the second line from the front are 
Generals Sherman, Hancock, and Torbert, Secre- 
taries Sherman, Stanton, W^elles and other Cabinet 
officers, while the pavilion and the stands on either 
side are crowded with officers of the army and dip- 
lomatic corps in brilliant uniforms, with ladies in 
gay attire, with governors, senators and civilians. 

" General Meade passes the stand at 9 :15 A. M. 
and salutes. The drum corps opposite peals out a 
salute in reply, and the march now commences. 
The splendid Cavalry Corps imder Merritt first 
passes under review. General Grant gives it a nod 
of approval as he recalls its record. Hooker mob- 
ilized it. Pleasanton first successfully fought it. 
Enough to sav of it is that it has been with Sheri- 



216 WASHINGTON. 

dijii in the Valley. It passes in platoons of sixteen 
horses, each trooper with drawn sahre. 

'' There around the corner of Fifteentli Street 
c(»nies Custer heading his famous Division. A fair 
liand throws him a flower wreath, which he catches 
galhmtly on his sword-arm; but the movement 
alarms his spirited stallion, which rears, plunges, 
and dashes off at a frightful speed down the Av- 
enue. But the General is not easily thrown. Still 
holding the garland in one hand, he subdues the 
steed with the other, and after properly punishing 
liini, forces him l)ack into the ranks. The troopers 
of this division all wear the '^ Custer tie," a scarf 
of red silk, merino, or flannel tied round the neck, 
with the ends falling nearly to the waist. The 
brave fellows are cheered all along the line, and as 
Davis' division passes there are more cheers, for in 
its rear rides a lonely contraband on a mule, the 
picture of independence, receiving cheers and laugh- 
ter with the nonchalance of an old campaigner. 

" Xext, with a clatter, comes those pets of the 
cavalry, the horse batteries, brigaded under their 
chief. Colonel Eobertson. Those three-inch rifles 
and brass twelves have raided it with the cavalry 
up and dowTi every valley and highway in old Vir- 
ginia. The batteries pass by in sections, tlie bu- 
glei-s playing the calls in chorus with fine effect. 
They disappear and (he mixed infantry and cavalry 
of the Provost-Ma rshaPs force, ' the law-and-order 



WASHINGTON IN WAR TIMES. 217 

brigade ' of the Army of the Potomac, take their 
place. The Engineer brigade of General Benham 
succeeds, — men of valor, skill, and patience, mem- 
bers of that indefatigable corps which has bridged 
every notable stream of the war — which could, if 
necessary, bridge the Potomac yonder in three 
hours. Two of their famous pontoon boats follow 
them ; thus the cavalry passes — it has been an hour 
and fifteen minutes filing by — and the infantry, 
headed by the gallant Ninth Corps, comes march- 
ing by, officers, men, and horses fairly covered with 
bouquets. 

" The Ninth — where has it not marched and 
fought ? In North Carolina first, at Roanoke 
Island with Burnside, then with the Army of the 
Potomac at South Mountain, Antietam, and Fred- 
ericksburg, then transferred to Kentucky, Missis- 
sippi, to East Tennessee and the defense of Knox- 
ville, and back to Virginia again, where imder 
Grant, it smelled powder in the battles of the Wil- 
derness, of the James, and of the Appomattox. A 
score of times it has been cut to pieces, and yet it 
has twenty-five thousand veterans in line to-day." 

" Here march two regiments that fought at Roa- 
noke on February 8, 1862. Here are the bagpipes 
of the Seventy-ninth from New York, discoursing 
as stirring strains as when it marched down Broad- 
way in the first week of the War, and here the shot- 
rent, blood-stained banners wave above the color- 



218 WASHINGTON. 

guard, some in tatters, some barely holding to the 
staff, and others tied to the staff, the threads too 
precious to lose a single one. These fragments of 
silk speak volumes; they are more eloquent than 
words, and the ])eople greet them with thunders of 
applause. 

^' A gap now intervenes and then ^ve see the Mal- 
tese Cross of the Fifth Corps advancing up the Av- 
enue. The men have been under arms since 5 A. 
M., yet they march \vith the free swinging step of 
the trained soldier, a step that carries its twenty- 
three thousand men past in an liour and fifteen min- 
utes. The column is closed with the Second Corps 
of twenty-five thousand men, and the review of the 
Army of the Potomac is accomplished. The 
marching has been by company front tw^enty men 
in line, and has been perfect in its "svay. The 
alignment has been especially commended — so 
many glittering bayonets in line, so many helmets, 
so many knapsacks, so many right feet advanced ; 
thus they have passed, — companies, battalions, reg- 
iments, ])rigades, divisions, corps, — nearly one hun- 
dred TJiousand men, in five and one-half hours with- 
out delay, mishap or error of any kind. Xo "svon- 
der the foreign diplomats and officers turn to one 
another and remark that there are no soldiers in the 
world that could surpass these American veterans. 

" President Johnson has frequently acknowledged 
the salutes of the brigade commanders as they rode 



WASIIINOTON IN WAK TIMES. 219 

by, but General Grant has sat imperturbable, — now 
and then making a commendatory remark as some 
exceptionally brave officer or distinguished regiment 
passed. Along the line of march, however, the 
brave veterans have been received with flowers, flut- 
ter of handkerchiefs, clapping of hands, and plau- 
dits of the spectators. 

" The prettiest feature of the day was a band of 
some two thousand teachers, scholars, and trustees 
of the public schools of Washington, who were sta- 
tioned on the north side of the Capitol, the girls 
gaily bedecked with ribbons of different colors, the 
boys with rosettes of similar hue upon their breasts, 
and all bearing flags, banners, and mottoes suitable 
to the occasion. As the hosts descended Capitol 
Hill, two thousand childish voices took up the 
strains of the ' Battle Cry of Freedom/ and sang it 
through in honor of the victors. 

^^ The next day the Division of the Mississippi 
passed in review before the same august assemblage. 
More interest, if possible, was taken in this pageant 
than in that of the day before, partly because the 
Armies of Georgia and Tennessee were new to the 
people of Washington, and also because their career 
showed more of romantic incident and chivalric dar- 
ing. By seven o'clock spectators begin to seek for 
good positions ; there are more present than on the 
previous day. 

'^ It is a little past nine as General Sherman, 



220 WASHINGTON. 

leading the advance, appears around the corner by 
Fifteenth Street, attended by his staff. Resound- 
ing cheers greet the hero of that grand march to 
the sea, who has added a new chapter to military 
history. Men wave their hats, ladies flutter deli- 
cate handkerchiefs and rain flowers on the favorite. 
He advances with the ' light of battle in his eyes,' 
salutes his reviewing officer and, dismounting be- 
yond, joins the group in the pavilion. Meantime 
the serried ranks are sweeping by. The order of 
march is by close columns of companies, all colors 
unfurled, the brigade bands playing as on the 
march, the battalion colors to salute the reviewing 
officer by drooping, the field music by making three 
ruflles in passing without interrupting the march. 
Their General gazes proudly on them and wuth 
cause. 

" These are the men who have counted their mile- 
stones by thousands, who began their career by 
marching from the Ohio to the Tennessee under 
Ihiell, who made that gallant raid into Alabama 
under the daring Mitchell, who checked the Confed- 
erate advance at Stone River under Rosecrans, who 
carried the passes of the Cumberland to seize Chat- 
tanooga, who stormed ^lissionary Ridge under 
Sherman, and fought above the clouds of Lookout 
"Mountain under Hooker, who marched from Chat- 
tanooga to Atlanta, and from Atlanta to the sea. 



WASHINGTON IN WAE TIMES. 221 

and who, under Sherman and McPherson, Slocum, 
Howard, and Kilpatrick, swept like a tornado 
through Georgia and the Carolinas and struck the 
death-blow to the rebellion. 

" Spectators note the splendid physique, the 
sturdy, swinging step of the men. There are but 
few eastern regiments. These ranks have been 
filled chiefly from the yeomanry of the prairies, 
from the dwellers by the Great Lakes, and the pi- 
oneers of the Far West. 

'' First comes the Army of the Tennessee led by 
General John A. Logan, black-haired, dark-skinned, 
riding a superb, dapple-gray stallion, and who is 
greeted with repeated plaudits. Following him 
marches the Seventeenth Corps, General Frank P. 
Blair, then the Fifteenth Corps led by Hazen, hero 
of Fort McAllister. At the head of each brigade 
is a battalion of black pioneers clad in the old plan- 
tation garments, with axe and shovel on shoulder, 
marching with even, sturdy step, and superior air, 
for Sherman has declared that the parade shall be 
an exact picture of his army on the march. In the 
Twentieth Corps, under General Mower, the First 
Division, under the veteran General Williams, has 
the advance. Army men speak of the latter as 
having seen more battles than years, and tell over 
the list of his engagements — Avith Shields in the 
Valley, with Banks at Fort "Royal, with Slocum at 



222 WASHINGTON. 

Aiitielaiii, with ILjoker at Chaiieellorsville, with 
Meade at Gettyshurg, and with Hooker again at 
Lookout Mountain, Kesaca, and Peach Tree Creek. 
" Another crack division, General John W. 
Geary's ' White Star,' marches by, and then every- 
l)<>dy is on the qui uice, for here, following General 
IJarnuni's brigade of Xew York troops, swings into 
view the first army pack-mule train ever seen in 
Washington. First come two diminutive donkeys, 
ridden by two small contrabands. Then a dozen 
patient pack-mules fitted with Mexican pack-sad- 
dles, laden with boxes of hardtack on one side and 
camp equipage on the other. x\s many stolid mule 
contrabands lead the mules, and they are followed 
by colored females on foot, and by a white soldier 
on horseback to see that all goes Avell. The mess 
and the mess-kit are borne by this cavalcade, and 
reclining contentedly on the mule's panniers we see 
half a dozen game-cocks, a sure-footed goat, and a 
pair of young coons — a grotesque spectacle truly, 
one that provokes cheers and laughter from ten 
thousand throats. 

'' But again the bayonets glisten, colors gleam, 
and bugles blare. The Fifteenth Corps, forming 
the rear-guard, is passing now, famous for fighting 
and marching, once commanded by General George 
IT. Thomas, and to-day partaking not a little of the 
qualities of the "Rock of Chickamauga. Xow^ the 
last battalion dips its colors, the last rank passes 



WASHINGTON IN WAE TIMES. 223 

and recedes from view. The Army of the Potomac 
and the Division of the Mississippi have passed by 
and into history." " 

* " The Story of Washington," Charles Burr Todd. New 
York, 1893. 



CHAPTER IX. 

WASHIXGTOX IX THE TWEXTIETH CENTURY. 

DuKiNG the decade following the opening of the 
Civil War, Washington's population doubled and 
its wealth greatly increased, but the close of the con- 
flict found the city unchanged and unimproved in 
its permanent features. It was a collection of ill- 
assorted houses and unfinished public buildings, lin- 
ing poorly-graded streets, the whole surrounded by 
swamp-land and unreclaimed waste. Hovels were 
often found in close proximity, if not actual jux- 
taj)ositi()n, to the finest residences — a survival 
of the earliest conditions in which we find General 
Washington lodging with his niece, Mrs. Peter, next 
door to the log cabin of the '' ])ump borer named 
]\rathias." There was no public water su])])ly and 
the sewerage system was a fruitful source of dis- 
ease. A restricted horse-car service was newly in- 
stalled. Pennsylvania Avenue alone enjoyed the 
distinction of being lighted and that but poorly. 
The citizens were obliged to place their dependence 
upon the crudest kind of fire service and the most 
inadequate ])(>lice protection. Thus, whilst Wash- 

224 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 225 

ington in 1870 contained a population of 130,000, 
it was less advanced in the matter of civic conven- 
iences than many a State capital of smaller size. 

Washington had, however, in this decade made 
a great gain in the place it had attained in the re- 
gard of the nation. It was no longer looked upon 
as a mere political camp and hunting-ground for 
office seekers. It had been fought for and held at 
the price of much precious blood. It had been the 
stronghold of the Union and was marked as its fu- 
ture focal point. Its inhabitants had done more 
than their share in support of the country's cause. 
Their men had been first in the field and their 
women had devoted themselves with whole-sovded 
self-abnegation to succor and ministration. With 
the return of peace, Washington found itself re- 
garded for the first time in its existence as the un- 
questionable permanent capital of the United 
States. Congress displayed an unwonted disposi- 
tion to promote its progress and a President came 
into office who evinced a strong personal interest in 
the welfare of the long-neglected city. At this 
auspicious time one of the citizens of Washington 
came forward and, taking advantage of the favor- 
able conditions, threw himself with enthusiastic en- 
ergy into the task of improving the capital. 

Early in 1871 Congress abolished the old Eng- 
lish form of municipal government by mayor and 
councils and instituted the territorial system, with 

15 



226 WASHINGTON. 

a guveriKtr, legislature and delegate. A board of 
public works was created and Alexander 11. Shep- 
herd became its first chairman. Shepherd, who was 
subsequently elevated to the position of governor, 
was a remarkable man, whose great services to the 
city are only now tardily meeting with full appre- 
ciation and receiving just recognition by the erec- 
tion l)y popular subscription of a statue in front of 
the New Municipal Building. lie was a native of 
Washington, born in lowdy circumstances and en- 
tirely dependent upon his native talents and unaided 
efforts for his rise in life. At an early age he had 
built up a large business as a master plumb?r and 
later dealt extensively in real estate. The latter 
circumstance had, perhaps, much to do with the un- 
just suspicions that were cast upon him at the close 
of his career, but it is now^ certain that Shepherd 
did not profit personally by the operations he con- 
ducted in behalf of the city and when he left his 
native place to begin life anew in a foreign land, it 
was with money l)orro\ved from his friends. 

With Alexander ^lullett, the architect, as his 
chief adviser. Shepherd entered upon a scheme of 
improvement so comprehensive that it embraced 
every feature of the city and entailed a task of 
stupendous proportions. The urgent need of an 
efhcieiit sew(»rage system first demanded his atten- 
tion. Great difficulties lay in the way of its con- 
struction. Extensive portions of the city lay below 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 227 

high watermark. The Tiber, which flowed into 
the canal near Capitol Hill, presented a serious 
problem. This was solved bj deflecting the stream 
from its natural course into the Eastern Branch. 
The former beds of the creek and some of its 
branches were then bricked over and converted into 
the main arteries of the system. The canal was 
subjected to similar treatment, and before the close 
of 1875, there were one hundred and twenty-three 
miles of these sewers in operation and Washington's 
system of sewerage had been transformed from the 
worst to the best in the country. 

At the same time work w^as in progress on a sys- 
tem of water supply. Some years previous an aque- 
duct had been built from the Falls of the Potomac 
which carried a generous flow of pure water to a 
reservoir two miles west of Georgetown. Hereto- 
fore, this reservoir had been connected only with 
the public buildings. Mains were now laid for the 
use of the city and in three years' time, one hundred 
and thirty-three miles of pipes were in operation. 

Private enterprise was encouraged to instal an 
extensive gas-lighting system and, before the end 
of the year 1873, more than three thousand street 
lamps were in use. At the same time the Governor 
and his aide were engaged in the laborious task of 
reducing the streets to a uniform grade and paving 
them. The main avenues were one hundred and 
sixtv feet in width and the streets from one hun- 



■228 WASHINGTON. 

dred and thirty to one hundred and forty feet in 
width, the aggregate area occupied by them being 
twenty-five hundred acres. In most cases these 
streets were of altogether too liberal proportions. 
^NFullett hit upon an admirable plan for reducing the 
enormous expense of paving them. He extended 
the pavements a uniform distance into the streets 
and sodded corresponding spaces between the former 
and the house fronts, thus securing economy with a 
desirable improvement. Upwards of two hundred 
miles of sidewalk were thus treated, seven miles 
beino: laid in stone or concrete and the remainder in 
l)rick. Finally, there were planted along the thor- 
oughfares twenty-five thousand shade trees of many 
varieties. 

In this operation of street improvement, nearly 
sixty-miles of wood-paving were laid, nearly thirty 
miles (»f concrete, and more than ninety miles of 
cobble, macadam, gravel, and Belgian block, in all 
one hundred and eighty miles. 

In three years' time. Shepherd had performed 
the arrears of seventy-five, and had lifted Wash- 
ington from a position of disgraceful backwardness 
towards its proper place among the cities of the 
country. The efi'ect of his work was immediately 
felt in the increase of population and enhancement 
of real estate values, but the heavy cost obscured 
the view of the great benefits to many people and 
he was assailed bv abuse and accusations of dis- 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTUKY. 229 

honesty from every side. An investigation by Con- 
gress showed that not a dollar had been misappro- 
priated, nor had oneybeen expended for Shepherd's 
personal benefit, but the feeling ran so high against 
him that he was forced to leave the city. In Mex- 
ico, he met with unbounded success and later re- 
turned to Washington with the satisfaction of find- 
ing himself fully vindicated and occupying an hon- 
ored place in the memory of the people of Wash- 
ington. 

Under the government by Commissioners, which 
replaced the territorial system in 1878, Washington 
has thriven and grown apace, but with the opening 
of the present century the city made a sudden bound 
forward and it is now at the commencement of a 
new period of activity and improvement which will 
leave it, in many respects, enjoying a position of 
undisputed preeminence. One revisiting the cap- 
ital to-day, after a brief interval of absence, is 
struck by the evidence of progress on every hand. 
Magnificent structures for the use of the Govern- 
ment are rising at several points. Municipal im- 
provements of various descriptions are being car- 
ried forward on liberal and artistic lines. In al- 
most every block of the down-town district private 
enterprise is erecting handsome buildings for busi- 
ness purposes. Trains no longer traverse the 
streets, but enter the city through a tunnel. All 
the lines use the new Union Station, which is one 



230 WASHINGTON. 

of the largest and most commodious railway sta- 
tions in the world. 

Many important and far-reaching improvements 
are contemplated and will be carried out at no dis- 
tant date. Of these, the chief is that which will 
involve the entire reconstruction of the large dis- 
trict embraced in the triangle bounded by Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue, the Mall, and Fifteenth Street, with 
the Capitol at its apex and the Monument bisecting 
its base. The plan contemplates the purchase of 
the property in private hands and the conversion 
of the triangle in question into an ornamental park, 
with boulevards, pathways, statuary, fountains 
and flower-beds. The outer edges — particularly 
Pennsylvania Avenue, — will be lined with impos- 
ing public buildings, of which the General Post 
Ottice and Municipal Building are forerunners. 
The area as a whole, with its splendid vista through 
the central boulevard from the Monument to the 
Capitol, will present a more attractive aspect than 
any portion of any city at present in existence can 
boast. 

This scheme is not one of mere embellishment, 
though it could not have been better designed, if 
such had been the case. As a pure business propo- 
sition, it recommends itself strongly to Congress. 
The Government has, since its first days in Wash- 
ington, been embarrassed for lack of adequate quar- 
ters for the transaction of its administrative busi- 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 231 

ness and the pressure has constantly been increas- 
ing. Not only is serious loss of time and incon- 
venience occasioned by the scattering of the vari- 
ous offices, but the system of leasing — wasteful at 
the best — has entailed unwarranted extravagance. 
In the year 1907, the Government paid out in 
rental of office premises in the city of Washington, 
a sum in excess of three quarters of a million of 
dollars, or the equivalent of three per cent on the 
amount for which the property needed for the im- 
provement under consideration can probably be ac- 
quired. 

The erection of public buildings upon the south 
side of the Avenue will certainly stimulate private 
enterprise to the improvement of the opposite line 
and the street will eventually become the most hand- 
some thoroughfare on earth. Commencing with 
the N'ew Willard, at the head of this stretch, there 
will be a succession of fine hotels to accommodate 
the rapidly increasing transient traffic. N'ewspa- 
pers, railroads, commercial corporations, financial 
institutions and retail merchants will erect build- 
ings in keeping with the surroundings and in har- 
mony with one another. 

A number of great public buildings are in course 
.of construction at the capital and many more will 
be commenced as soon as the desired sites along 
Pennsylvania Avenue are available. The triple oc- 
cupancy of the War, State and Navy Building will 



232 WASHINGTON. 



IK 



►t be possible nuicb longer. Either one of these 
Departments could now find use for the entire ac- 
commodations and two of them must be provided 
with separate buildings. The Department of Jus- 
tice and the Department of Commerce and Labor 
need to be furnished quarters and there are a dozen 
or more of important bureaus and commissions scat- 
tered about in leased premises, that should be ade- 
quately housed. The creation of one or two new 
Departments is imminent and everv' indication 
points to the expansion of the executive machinei^ 
(»f the Government with the course of time. 

The District Commissioners and their staff have 
never enjoyed the advantage of a permanent loca- 
tion or convenient offices. Their present quarters 
— the best they have ever occupied — are composed 
of bare, dingy rooms, in an out-of-the-way rented 
office building. They now move into a handsome 
white niarl)le structure at the junction of Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue and Thirteenth Street. With its ap- 
proach of grass and shrubbery, forming a setting for 
the statue of Shepherd, the District Building is a 
fitting companion to the great Government edifices 
that are to rise on the same alignment. 

Work on the new Agricultural Building is far 
advanced. It will be a truly magnificent structure, 
oc('U]")ving a position near the middle of the triangle 
wliich has been described. In close proximity to it 
will stand the new Smithsonian Institution, in 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 233 

course of construction. The ground has been broken 
for the imposing home of the Bureau of xVmerican 
Republics, which has hitherto conducted its busi- 
ness in a small private house at the corner of Jack- 
son Place. 

In October, 1907, the foundation stone of the 
National Episcopal Cathedral was laid upon St. 
Alban's Mount. This w^ill be the most beautiful 
and imposing ecclesiastical edifice in America and 
will bear comparison with the celebrated cathedrals 
of England. Its dominant site w^ill bring the 
Gothic towers and pinnacles into view from every 
part of the city. 

An interesting tradition attaches to the founda- 
tion of the Cathedral. When the capital of the 
nation was first established in the District of Co- 
lumbia, Joseph Nourse, Registrar of the Treasury, 
lived upon St. Alban's Mount. He was a religious 
enthusiast and much given to meditation and prayer 
in the oak grove that stood contiguous to his house. 
His most cherished dream was that when the strag- 
gling village in the bottom-lands should have grown 
into a populous city, a house of worship befitting a 
great nation might be erected upon the ground upon 
which he stood. The ceremonies connected with the 
laying of the foundation stone of the Cathedral of 
St. Peter and St. Paul took place in this very grove. 
Nor was this mere accident. Phoebe Nourse, in- 
spired by her grandfather's enthusiasm, left her all 



234 WASHINGTON. 

— " forty gold dollars in a hair-pin box," the pro- 
ceeds of needlework, — and gave the ground for the 
founding of a church. This was in the forties, and 
from that humble endowment the first free church 
in the district of Columbia, — an Episcopal place of 
worshi}), — rose on St. Alban's ^Fount. It was fit- 
ting, therefore, that the same site should be chosen 
for the twentieth century cathedral. 

The grand boulevard bridge, designed to carry 
Connecticut Avenue over the gorge of Rock Creek, 
was completed before the close of the year 1907. 
It is the largest concrete bridge in the world and 
has been constructed at a cost of nearly one millicm 
dollars. Another work of this character, which is 
likely to be undertaken before many years, is the 
^lemorial Bridge across the Potomac, to be ^^ erected 
as a tribute to American patriotism." The design, 
which is the joint production of !Mr. E. P. Casey 
and ^Ir. W. II. Burr, is unique and combines the 
extreme of gracefulness with the appearance of 
strength. 

Extensive improvement of Rock Creek Park is in 
progress, in which the Commissioners are wisely 
refraining from unnecessary interference with the 
natural features that are so widely noted for their 
beauty. On the other side of the District, a park is 
planned to extend along the Anacostia, and in con- 
nection with that work, the river will be deepened 
with a vicnv t<» improving navigation. 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 235 

It frequently happens nowadays tliat travelers 
who are familiar with the capitals of the world, 
concede to Washington the premier place for 
beauty. This distinction is earned for it by its 
clear air and cleanliness, its beautiful public build- 
ings and private residences, its broad streets and 
avenues, with focal circles and — above all — by 
its wealth of magnificent trees. Every thorough- 
fare in the city is shaded and every reservation 
wooded. The work — which was started by Jef- 
ferson, who planted Pennsylvania Avenue with 
Lombardy poplars — has been done under intelli- 
gent and tasteful municipal direction, so that there 
is apparent a distinct design, characterized by har- 
mony and variety. Here we see a broad avenue, 
lined with stately oaks or spreading elms ; there a 
less wide street appropriately bordered by lindens, 
sycamores, maples, or gingkos. The Capitol owes 
much of its impressive aspect to the splendid trees 
that surround it and not a little of the attractive- 
ness of the White House is derived from similar 
accessories. Where can a more imposing vista be 
found than that of Massachusetts Avenue, as one 
looks through its ranks of American lindens to 
Thomas Circle ? Or can one imagine anything 
more beautiful than the approach to the Agricul- 
tural Department through symmetrical rows of Jap- 
anese gingkos ? 

Washington, with its frequent focal circles and 



236 WASHINGTON. 

grassy triangles at tbc points where streets con- 
verge, has nnusual facility for the erection and dis- 
I)lay of statuary and this advantage has been pur- 
sued to the fullest extent. It is said that the city 
contains more equestrian statues than all the other 
cities of the world combined. This is to be ac- 
counted for by the national desire, keen in the pe- 
riod immediately following the Civil War, to do 
honor to the officers who took prominent parts in 
the conflict. In the pursuit of this very laudable 
object, it is not unlikely that some less picturesque, 
but no less deserving personages have been over- 
looked. There is a noticeable absence of any statue 
of Hamilton in the capital of the nation that owes 
more to liini than to any of his contemporaries save 
only Washington. John Smith is another worthy 
who deserves a place upon a pedestal in Washing- 
ton. But tlien one might readily name a score of 
men whose services to their country better entitle 
tlicni to a conspicuous place of honor in the capital 
than many whose carved effigies occupy prominent 
])ositions. Hardly a visitor to Washington — be he 
native or alien, — but is surfeited with the present- 
ments of uniformed heroes and looks with regretful 
disappointment for some memorial of one or an- 
other noble character whose name is inseparably 
linked with the history of his country. 

Washington is justly proud of its institutions of 
science and learning. Foremost among the former 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 237 

is the Smithsonian Institution, which, together with 
the National Museum, occupies two buildings in 
the extensive reservation to the south of the MalL 
'Whilst, how^ever, the Smithsonian is the chief ex- 
ponent of American scientific thought, its activities 
are extended to every branch of human knowledge. 
It has, for more than half a century, been one of 
the most important agencies in the intellectual life 
of our people and '' has been a rallying point for 
the workers in every department of scientific and 
educational work, and the chief agency for the free 
exchange of books, apparatus of research, and of 
scientific intelligence between this and other coun- 
tries." 

The founder of this inestimably useful institu- 
tion was James Smithson, or James Macie, as he 
called himself in early life. He w^as an illegiti- 
mate son of the Earl of Northumberland, by the 
cousin of that nobleman's wdfe. " The best blood 
of England flows in my veins," he once wrote ; ^' on 
my father's side I am a Northumberland, on my 
mother's I am related to kings, but this avails me 
not.* My name shall live in the memory of man 
when the titles of the Xorthumberlands and the 
Percys are extinct and forgotten." 

* As a matter of fact, the nobility of descent was all on 
the mother's side. The family of the Percys was long ex- 
tinct and Sir Hugh Smithson was related to the Earls of 
Northumberland only by his marriage to the daughter of one 
of them. 



238 WASHINGTON. 

James Sniithson devoted ln< life to scientific 
studies, especially that of mineralogy, in which he 
was considered one of the leading men of his day. 
Tpon his death, which occurred at Genoa, in 18-!1), 
it was found that he had bequeathed all his prop- 
erty to the United States ^' to found at Washington, 
under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an 
establishment for the increase and diffusion of 
knowlcMlge among men." 

No reason can be definitely assigned for this gen- 
erous and altogether unlooked for endowment. So 
far as is known, he had never been in America, nor 
is there any evidence, other than the bequest, of 
special interest on his part in the country. It is 
not even knowni that an American ^vas among his 
intimate friends, and his library contained but two 
books relating to the United States. It is probable 
that he was prompted by a belief in the future great- 
ness of the new nation and consideration of its 
needs. 

Six years after the death of Smithson, the United 
States legation in London was notified that his es- 
tate, amounting to about half a million dollars, was 
held by the British Court of Chancery. But at this 
point great public opposition to the acceptance of 
the gift developed. Calhoun and other eminent 
statesmen contended that it was beneath the dignity 
of the United States to receive presents and some 
intinuited that the donor was seeking immortality 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 239 

for too moderate an equivalent. But the influence 
of John Quincy Adams, who took a more practical 
view of the case and had a just realization of what 
it involved, prevailed at length and a commissioner 
was sent to England to prosecute the claim on hehalf 
of the Government. A favorable decision was eas- 
ily secured and the legacy was conveyed to Amer- 
ica in the form of upwards of one hundred thousand 
gold sovereigns, which were immediately recoined 
into current money. The permanent fund thus es- 
tablished has, by the increments of interest and vari- 
ous legacies, swelled to the amount of practically one 
million dollars, the greater part of which is held on 
deposit in the United States Treasury, at six per 
cent. 

The first meeting of the Board of Regents took 
place in September, 1816, when Professor Joseph 
Henry was elected to the office of Secretary and his 
plan of organization approved. '^ The successful 
organization of the Institution," says one of its pub- 
lications, '^ has been the result of long-continued 
effort on the part of men of unusual ability, energy, 
and personal influence. Xo board of trustees, or 
regents, no succession of officers serving out their 
terms in rotation could have developed from a chaos 
of conflicting opinions, a strongly individualized 
establishment like the Smithsonian Institution. 
The names of Henry and Baird are so thoroughly 
identified with the history of the Institution during 



240 WASHINGTON. 

its first four decades that their biographies would 
together form an ahiiost complete history of its op- 
orations. A thirty-two years' term of uninterrupted 
administrative service Avas rendered by one, thirty- 
seven years by the other. Perhaps no other organ- 
ization has had the benefit of so continuous an ad- 
ministration of forty years, beginning with its birth 
and continuing in an unbroken line of consistent 
policy — a career of growing usefulness and enter- 
prise." 

Samuel P. Langley was the third in the succes- 
sion of heads of the Institution. To him was due 
the establishment of the Xational Zoological Park 
and of the Astrophysical Observatory. Under his 
administration, also, an additional building for the 
Xational Museum to cost three and one-half mil- 
lions of dollars Avas authorized by Congress and is 
in course of construction. 

Upon the death of Professor Langley in 1907, 
the Pegents of the Smithsonian Institution ap- 
pr»inted Charles I). Walcott, who for many years 
liad been the Director of the Geological Survey, to 
fill the vacancy. Dr. Walcott, besides being one of 
the leading scientists of the world, is a man of great 
executive ability and breadth of vision. It is con- 
fidently believed that under his direction the Smith- 
sonian Institution will enter upon a ]~>eriod of 
greatly extended usefulness. 

The Smiths(jnian Institution is the custodian of 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 241 

the National Museum, wliicli is the only lawful 
place of deposit of " all objects of art and of foreign 
and curious research, and all objects of natural his- 
tory, plants, and geological and mineralogical speci- 
mens belonging to the United States." The Mu- 
seum is divided into three distinct branches, those 
of Record, Research and Education, and its con- 
tents conform to this classification. 

It is not generally known that Ave have a national 
gallery of art, or, more strictly speaking, the ma- 
terial for one. That such is the case must be ap- 
parent from the explicit conditions of the foregoing 
quotation, for the United States owns many paint- 
ings and other works of art that are scattered about 
in numerous places. But, aside from these, the 
nation owns a valuable and extensive collection of 
pictures that need only a building to make a very 
considerable display. 

A few years after the passage of the x\ct of Con- 
gress, in 1846, which constituted the Smithsonian 
Institution the legal depositary for the national 
art possessions, the Marsh collection of prints was 
purchased, but aside from this little has been done 
in the way of accumulating an art collection. 
Erom time to time the Government has made ad- 
ditions to the collections of the Library of Congress 
and the Corcoran Art Gallery, whilst the officials 
as well as the public in general had gradually for- 
gotten that we possessed a legally constituted na- 
16 



242 WASHINGTON. 

tiunal gallery of art. Attention ^vas directed to 
the matter in a very peculiar way. In 1903, Mrs. 
Harriet Lane Johnston left a collection of paint- 
ings to the Corcoran Gallery with the proviso that 
in case a national gallery should ever be established 
the collection should revert to it. The Corcoran 
Gallery declined the bequest under the conditions 
and the President, desiring to save the collection 
to the nation, recommended in his annual message 
of December, 1904, a legislative measure which 
would have been practically a repetition of the 
Act of 184G. This led the way to the discovery of 
the '' mislaid institution " and a decree of the Su- 
])reme Court, in 1906, '^ gave legal standing to a 
national galler}'." 

Although there are as yet no buildings de- 
voted to their reception, the collections of the 
United States have grown rapidly in recent years. 
In 1900, ^Ir. Charles L. Freer, of Detroit, deeded 
to the Smithsonian Institution his collection of 
paintings, prints, potteries, and oilier art objects, 
valued at six hundred thousand dollars and prom- 
ised to bequeath to the Institution the sum of half 
a million dollars for the purpose of constructing a 
building in which to house them. In March, 1907, 
]\Ir. William T. Evans, of New York, offered to 
present to the National Gallery a collection of 
paintings by American artists of reputation — an 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 243 

offer which was promptly and gratefully accepted. 
Other gifts of less extensive character have been 
made to the Government since the existence of a 
national gallery has become known and the privi- 
lege of exhibiting several noted collections has been 
extended to it. 

The Corcoran art collection, together with the 
building it originally occupied at the corner of 
Seventeenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, and 
an endowment fund, was the gift of the late Wil- 
liam Wilson Corcoran to the public by deed dated 
May 10, 1869, "to be used solely for the purposes 
of encouraging American genius in the production 
and preservation of works pertaining to the Fine 
Arts, and kindred objects." AVith the condition 
that it should be open to visitors without pecuniary 
charge whatever at least two days in each week, 
with authority to charge for admission at other 
times such moderate and reasonable fee as might be 
prescribed. 

The present handsome building, which was open- 
ed in 1897, stands fronting on Seventeenth Street, 
between E Street and N'ew York Avenue. The 
style of architecture is ISTeo-Grecian, the material 
being white Georgia marble, on a basement of Mil- 
ford pink granite. The first story is pierced by 
windows, the second rises in a solid white wall, 
broken only by a row of open-work marble panels 



244 WASHINGTON. 

along tlie upper edge, used as ventilators to the 
galleries, which receive their light from the glass 
roof. 

The collection is rich in paintings, statuary, 
bronzes, and other works of art. In connection 
with the Gallery a free school of art is maintained. 

Early in 1007, the Corcoran Gallery of Art held 
a notable exhibition of contemporary American oil 
paintings which was marked with extraordinary 
success. During the month that the exhibition was 
open to the public, it was viewed by over sixty 
thousand persons. Twenty-six pictures were sold 
for nearly fifty thousand dollars in the aggregate, 
thirteen of them being purchased for the perma- 
nent collection of the Gallery. Similar exhibition-^ 
are to be held annually in the future and it is hoped 
that the movement will do much to encourage 
American art and perhaps prove to be the inception 
of a permanent American salon. 

One of the most cherished hopes of George Wash- 
ington in connection with the capital was that it 
should become the seat of a great institution of 
learning and in his last will and testament he urged 
the establishment of a university there. In 1821, 
a charter was granted by Act of Congress creating 
^' The Columbian College in the District of Colum- 
bia." In 1825, the Medical School was organized, 
niid f<^rty years later, the Law School. In 1866, 
William Wilson Corcoran arave the Medical School 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. 245 

a building and in 1872, made an endowment for 
the purpose of converting the college into a uni- 
versity. In the following year an Act of Congress 
authorized the desired change. From time to time 
there were organized a Scientific School, a Dental 
School, a School of Graduate Studies, and a De- 
partment of Jurisprudence and Diplomacy. 

In 1904, the George Washington Memorial As- 
sociation proposed that the name of the institution 
should be changed to that of " The George \Yash- 
ington University," and offered if that should be 
done to erect a new building for graduate study 
and scientific research at a cost of half a million 
dollars. The change was made in the same year. 
Shortly afterwards Congress authorized the incor- 
poration of colleges under the University charter, 
since when there have been organized the Washing- 
ton College of Engineering, the National College of 
Pharmacy, the College of Political Sciences, and 
the Division of Education. 

The George Washington University is a non- 
sectarian institution, maintaining as high a stand- 
ard of education and offering as extensive facilities 
as any university in the country. During the year 
1907, it had upwards of thirteen hundred students 
entered upon its books. These were drawn from 
every part of the United States and many of them 
from foreign countries. The faculty and teaching 
staff, numbering over two hundred, include men 



246 WASHINGTON. 

of the very highest attainments in their several 
specialties. The University offers a number of 
prizes and sohoh^rships for excellence in various 
branches of study. 

The Howard University, for the higher educa- 
tion of negroes, was established by Act of Congress 
in 1867, and named after General Oliver O. How- 
ard, who was for six years its president. Although 
especially founded for the benefit of the colored 
race, it is open to all without any distinction of 
sex or race, and there are among its teachers and 
students a number of white persons. It has about 
five hundred students from all parts of the country 
who are distributed among its departments of the- 
ology', medicine, law, college, normal, and prepara- 
tory. The courses are from two to four years in 
extent. The medical department which is always 
largely attended has the benefit of the clinical in- 
struction of the Freedman's Hospital. The corps 
of instructors is capable and sufficiently numerous. 
Tuition is free in the preparatory, normal, and 
college departments and the cost of it low in the 
others. Congress makes an annual appropriation 
for the support of the institution. 

Georgetown T^niversity is the oldest Catholic 
educational institution in the United States. It 
was founded by John Carroll, first Bishop of Balti- 
more, in 1702. Tt was originally a small college, 
but in 1815, was converted into a universitv. Its 



IN THE TWENTIETH CENTUKY. 247 

present splendid building was begun in 1877. It 
is said to be the largest devoted to educational pur- 
poses in the United States. The University has a 
large number of students, mainly from the South, 
and an able corps of professors. 



CHAPTER X. 

JOURNALISM IN WASHINGTON. 

The United States Government is one of the few 
that have not '' official gazettes," as they are usually 
termed. Such a publication is, however, in con- 
templation and probably will be soon established 
at Washington. It will probably be restricted to 
executive orders and similar announcements. This 
is almost the only civilized country in which there 
is not at least one government organ — a news- 
paper whose political utterances are knowQ to be 
inspired by the administration and whose editor 
consults with the prime minister or some member 
of the cabinet before committing himself to any 
important expression of opinion. Our papers are 
mostly partisan but they all maintain their inde- 
pendence and right of free discussion. Such has 
not, however, always been the case. In the early 
years of the Government several public sheets were 
avowed representatives of the administration or its 
opponents and in cases were practically subsidized. 

The Gazette of the United States was started in 
IN'ew York as a distinctly Government organ. It 

248 



JOURNALISM IN WASmNGTON. 249 

was edited by John Fenno, but controlled by Alex- 
ander Hamilton and contributed to by John Adams 
and other prominent Federalists. As an offset to 
this newspaper, Madison aided Philip Freneau in 
establishing the National Gazette, and during Jef- 
ferson's term, the publisher was taken care of with 
a position in the State Department. Personalities 
soon figured in the warfare of these organs and be- 
came a pronoimced feature of the journalism of the 
times. Hamilton, writing anonymously, character- 
ized Freneau's occupancy of the dual position of 
government clerk and partisan editor as ^' indeli- 
cate, unfit, and inconsistent with republican purity." 
Freneau replied with an affidavit declaring that Jef- 
ferson had never contributed a cent nor a line to the 
National Gazette. Hamilton seems to have been the 
first to introduce the personal note to the journal- 
ism in America and in the exchange of attacks that 
followed he and his party had decidedly the worst 
of it, although it must be admitted that they were 
less reckless and vulgar in their expressions than 
were their opponents. Washington was intensely 
disgusted by the intemperance of the assaults of 
the opposition press and wrote that the '' publica- 
tions in Freneau's and Bache's papers were out- 
rages on decency." Bache, a grandson of Franklin, 
published the Advertiser, afterwards called the 
Aurora, as a Jeffersonian organ. 

Fenno's announcement of ^' a national paper, to 



250 WASHINGTON. 

be pllbli^lle(l at the seat of the Federal Govern- 
ment," defined the following objects: ^'1. Early 
and authentic accounts of the proceedings of Con- 
gress. 2. Impartial sketches of the debates in Con- 
gress. 3. Essays on the great subject of govern- 
ment in general, and the Federal Legislature in 
particular. 4. A series of paragraphs calculated 
to catch the ' living manners as they rise,' etc., etc. 

'' Published every Wednesday and Saturday. 
Three dollars per annum, exclusive of postage. 
Subscriptions will bo received in all capital towns 
on the continent; also, at the City Coffee House, 
and at 86 William street. April 15, ITSO." 

The price of newspapers at that time prohibited 
the sale of many copies but the circulation was 
large, for each copy had numberless readers. The 
journal that found its way to an outlying district 
or which was taken at a tavern passed through the 
hands of one after another rustic until it fell to 
pieces. Even in the towns several families com- 
monly (•lubl)ed a subscription to a newspaper and 
in New York, Philadelphia and Boston, the file of 
the current journals was one of the chief attrac- 
tions of the coffee house or hotel. Probably the 
]iul)lic evinced greater interest in the doings of the 
Government during the administration of Washing- 
ton than at any subsequent period until the Civil 
War and llie earliest newspapers exercised an in- 
fluence much greater than they merited. 



JOURNALISM IN WASHINGTON. 251 

During the presidency of John Adams there were 
fifteen dailies published in the coimtry and eight 
of these issued from Philadelphia, being a greater 
number than the city supports at the present day. 
For the most part the press was anti-Federalist and 
the administration papers were poorly edited. This 
led the party in power to attempt suppressive meas- 
ures. Despite the warnings of Hamilton, who was 
strongly averse to the step, the Sedition Bill was 
passed. It established the strictest kind of censor- 
ship. Prosecutions were set on foot and several 
editors were sent to jail or fined, whilst Cobbet, one 
of the most able, was forced to flee the country. He 
went to England and began the reporting of par- 
liamentary debates which was the inception of the 
present complete system. 

The Sedition Bill, which was repealed in 1801, 
failed to effect its purpose. The newspapers con- 
tinued their rancorous attacks and published the 
grossest calumnies and most indecent personalities. 
Reading the contemporary accounts of affaires de 
coeiirs with negresses and Hamilton's liaison with 
Mrs. Reynolds, one realizes that '' yellow journal- 
ism" is by no means a latter-day creation. The 
fatal duel between Hamilton and Burr w^as the cul- 
mination of a newspaper controversy carried on in 
the Evening Post and Morning Chronicle of New 
York. 

When the Government moved to Washington, 



252 WASHINGTON. 

Samuel Harrison Smith accompanied it, with the 
encouragement, if not at the actual instigation of 
Jefferson, for the express purpose of starting a 
newspaper at the capital. This was called the lY^- 
i'lonal Intelligencer, hut the Federalists dubhed it 
the " National Smoothing-plane " and its editor, 
^'' Silky, Milky Smith." Tlie Intelligencer was a 
decorous, but colorless and at times inane, sheet. It 
had practically no rival at Washington for a while 
and under the fostering wing of President Jeffer- 
son managed to establish itself securely, but it was 
never a paying property and although it had an 
exceptionally long life, it is doubtful if it ever 
exerted much influence outside of Washington. 
Gales was its proprietor at the time of the British 
invasion, when the office and plant were burnt. 
The elder Gales sat to Charles King for a portrait 
and, against the protests of the artist, insisted upon 
being depicted as holding a copy of the Intelligencer 
in his hand. The painter, who was noted for his 
wit, consoled himself by displaying the words ^' Dry 
Goods " very legibly, as though at the head of the 
advertising columns. The satire seems to have es- 
caped the family for it stands to this day, in whimsi- 
cal testimony to tlie general opinion of the Intelli- 
gencer. Perha])s, the period of the paper's greatest 
nsefulness was during the proprietorship of Seaton, 
wlio as mayor of Washington served the city well. 
With the advent of Jackson, the journal turned 



JOUKNALISM IN WASHINGTON. 253 

Whig in politics and so remained nntil the Civil 
War, when it became Democratic and sympathized 
with the secessionists. 

The milk-and-water quality of the Intelligencer 
could never satisfy the ardent temperament of 
" Old Hickory." He desired a vigorous and domi- 
nant organ that should cow and overshadow all 
rivals. With a view to establishing such a medium, 
Jackson sent to Kentucky for Frank Blair, a man 
of the same domineering spirit as himself. Blair 
started the Globe and it soon made itself felt, though 
not always in a creditable manner. At any rate, 
the accusation of tameness was not applicable to 
Washington journalism from this time on. 

In February, 1837, Eeuben Wliitney, a member 
of the staff of the Daily Globe, was arraigned at the 
bar of the House for contempt in failing to attend 
the meeting of a committee, by whom he had been 
summoned. His excuse was that he could not obey 
without subjecting himself to outrage and violence 
in the committee room. Representative Fairchild, 
of Maine, a member of the committee in question, 
testified to the facts. It appeared that Bailie 
Peyton, of Tennessee, who was on the committee, 
regarding a certain answer of Whitney as offensive 
to himself, sprang to his feet and cried out : " Mr. 
Chairman, I wish you w^ould inform this witness 
that he is not to insult me in his answers; if he 
does, I will take his life on the spot." The Avitness, 



254 WASHINGTON. 

rising, claimed the protection of the committee; on 
which Peyton exclaimed, " You shan't speak ; you 
shan't say one Avord while you are in this room; 
if you do, I shall put you to death." Henry A. 
Wise, the chairman, then intervened saying: 
^' Yes, this insolence is insufferable." A few min- 
utes later, Peyton, observing that the witness was 
looking at him, exclaimed : ^' His eyes are on me ; 
he is looking at me — he shan't do it — he shan't 
look at me ! " Wise in a speech made the admission 
that he was armed, adding: "I watched the mo- 
tion of that right arm, the elbow of which could be 
seen by me, and had it moved one inch he had died 
on the spot. This was my detennination." That 
Whitney was unarmed and had no thought of break- 
ing the peace, carried no weight with the brutes 
who assailed him. 

James Watson Webb, Washington correspondent 
of the N'ew York Courier and the swashbuckler 
Wise conspired to bring about the duel between 
Graves and Cilley which was little less than a cold- 
blooded murder. The affair between Clay and Sen- 
ator King of Alabama, in which a duel was nar- 
rowly averted, grew^ out of the attacks of the Globe 
upon the former and his statement on the floor of 
the Senate Chamber that he considered Blair " a 
common libeller and the Glohe a libel." 

At this time a third paper was published in Wash- 
ington by Duff Green, on E Street, between Ninth 



JOURNALISM IN WASHINGTON. 255 

and Tenth, northwest. It was called Thr Tele- 
graph and was the organ of Calhoun and the ex- 
ponent of the nullification doctrine. The career of 
the Telegraph — wdiich by-the-way antedated that 
convenience by several years — was short and tu- 
multuous. Green sought to establish a '^ Printers' 
College/' in which apprentices were to be educated 
at the case for the journalistic profession. The 
real object w^as to train nullification editors for 
service in different parts of the South and, perhaps, 
elsewhere. The Intelligencer and Globe, though 
opposed in politics made common cause against the 
Telegraph and instigated its printers to strike, 
which they were the more ready to do because they 
feared that Duff Green's scheme would glut the 
market with compositors and pressmen. Frequent 
meetings were held and culminated in a riotous 
fight between the '' rats," as Green's apprentices 
were tenned, and the " regulars." The ringleaders 
of the latter force were committed to prison and, 
although they had unquestionably provoked the dis- 
turbance, President Jackson promptly pardoned 
them. The Telegraph maintained a precarious ex- 
istence for a few^ years longer and then quietly sus- 
pended publication. 

'' Polk bought out old Blair and brought Father 
Ritchie from Richmond to edit his new paper, the 
Union. The venerable Blair forthwith retired 
from his long autocracy of luxurious pensionership ; 



256 WASHINGTON. 

he had been the most dependent independent man 
who ever reduced public sentiment to a printing 
job. The old ^ galvanized corpse/ as Clay called 
him, had largely ruled the party which ruled the 
United States for three administrations. He used 
to prepare an article in the Glohe office and send 
slips of it to the papers dependent upon him for an 
editorial policy; these papers would alter it and 
publish it ; then old Blair would copy back into his 
own paper these modified articles, making a whole 
broad sheet, and call them ' Voice of the Democratic 
press.' This tyrannical and gifted old man used 
to be the political Pope of the party, to read people 
out of it. Some of his successors try to carry the 
keys, but there is no party nowadays strong enough 
to afford to lose a newspaper." * 

The National Era and the Southern Press w^ere 
started in Washington at about this time. The 
career of the latter was brief and imnoteworthy 
but the former created a stir during the mayorship 
of Peter Force, when its offices were attacked by a 
mob of Southern sympathizers who had been of- 
fended by the publication of " Uncle Tom's Cabin " 
in the columns of the paper. 

The good faith that newspapers and corre- 
spondents generally exercise towards officials and 
public characters at the present day, was by no 

* Washington, Outside and Inside. Geo. Alfred Townsend, 
Cincinnati, 1873. 



JOURNALISM IN WASHINGTON. 257 

means the rule in earlier times. Many prominent 
men held the press and its representatives in the 
greatest distrust and not Avithout justification. 
During Fillmore's term, correspondents in the re- 
ception room adjoining the Cabinet chamber, Avere 
in the habit of eavesdropping. The discovery was 
made by Webster, Avho was highly incensed by it. 
President Pierce looked upon the correspondents as 
pirates and took the precaution of having his mes- 
sages set up in the White House. Lincoln had 
more than one unpleasant experience with news- 
paper men and said: ^^ I have found that docu- 
ments given to the press are always prematurely 
published." 

In the first half of the past century, public men 
were much more sensitive of printed abuse of them- 
selves than they are now and less disposed to con- 
cede the right of free expression or to recognize the 
futility of attempting to check it. Editors were 
prone to publish statements injurious to individ- 
uals without taking ordinary pains to gage their 
truthfulness and the most grossly vulgar person- 
alities appeared in the leading journals. The fol- 
lowing illustration is no exceptional one but rather 
characteristic. In 1858, the NTew York Tribune 
wrote of the Honorable William Sawyer, of Wis- 
consin, as a " critter " who devoured sausages be- 
hind the Speaker's chair and wiped his hands upon 
his bald pate. " Then," continued the article, " he 
17 



258 WASHINGTON. 

])icks his teeth with a jack-knife, and goes on the 
floor to abuse the Whigs as the British party." Of 
course the statements were purely fanciful and 
equally of course the lampooned member made a 
mistake in bringing the matter to the attention of 
the House. It is true, he secured the disfranchise- 
ment of the offending correspondent, but at the ex- 
pense of attaching to himself the nickname of 
'' Sausage Sawyer." 

In his '^ Recollection of Men and Things at 
Washington,'' L. A. Gobright, who for many years 
represented a metropolitan paper at the capital, 
gives an interesting account of the censorship that 
was establislied during the first period of the Civil 
War, the only effective censorship of the press in the 
history of the country. The first messenger from 
the field of Bull Run was a newspaper correspondent 
who reported a Union victory and the glad news 
was telegraphed far and wide as soon as possible. 
Some hours later, the disheartening truth was 
learned and the correspondents at once filed de- 
spatches according with it. " Judge of our disap- 
pointment," says Gobright. " The papers which 
arrived here the next day, did not contain a single 
word of the ^ disaster ;' but only the telegrams of 
the first part of the occurrences. The people of 
the North were rejoicing over a victory, not having 
been permitted to leani that we suffered a defeat. 
The telegra])h censor, by official order had ' closed 



JOURNALISM IN WASHINGTON. 259 

down ' on us. He permitted the good news to go, 
but suppressed the had. , . . The rule was so 
severe that censors had to be very circumspect, for 
they feared arrest and imprisonment if they shouhl, 
by inadvertence, suffer an obnoxious sentence to be 
telegraphed. Soft lead pencils for some kinds of 
paper, and heavy pen with the blackest of ink for 
others, were essential to the performance of their 
grave functions. The censors Avere not all passably 
good scholars; owing to this, it not infrequently 
happened that the marking out of a sentence, or 
less, left the remainder of the telegram a mass of 
nonsense, there being no proper connection of its 
parts. The censor was the sole, the supreme judge. 
If he did not like the despatch, he would assas- 
sinate it, or so maim it as to destroy its original 
features." It must be remembered, in this con- 
nection, that Washington was, at the time, a camp 
under martial law and the censorship was no more 
than the regulation of news despatches that is 
usually exercised by military authorities under sim- 
ilar circumstances. 

The restrictions on telegraphic despatches were 
not, however, such great hardships at the time. 
The w^ires were generally used for but brief items, 
the fullest statements being committed to the mails. 
There was no competition between the various cor- 
respondents, of whom there were about a score in 
the capital during the War. On the contrary, they 



2G0 WASHINGTON. 

seem to have formed themselves into a sort of 
mutual aid society. Each was writing for several 
papers — in cases as many as a dozen — and mak- 
ing from ten to twenty thousand dollars a year. 

Strangely enough, the people of Washington did 
not look to their own papers for news. The Even- 
iiKj Siar was the only local journal that made any 
live effort to he up to date and it was in its in- 
fancy at the time. W^ashington depended on the 
I^altimore sheets for late and reliahle intelligence, 
and particularly upon the Sun, which kept three 
or four representatives at the capital. A story used 
to be current of a man meeting Gales, the publisher 
of the Inielligencer, upon the street one morning 
and inquiring, ^' What's the news V '' 1 don't 
know," Gales is purported to have replied, '' I 
haven't yet seen the Sun." 

The War gave a tremendous impetus to the press 
all over the country and to journalism in all its 
forms. This development has nowhere been more 
marked than in Washington. Since that time there 
have grown up in it at least two papers that rank 
with the very best published in America and since 
that time the outside sheets have sent their brightest 
and brainiest men to represent them at the national 
center. The character of the local papers has en- 
tirely changed. Whereas, in the early days, they 
were intensely partisan and often dependent in one 
way or another (m official aid, they are now entirely 



JOUKNALISM IN WASHINGTON. 261 

independent in politics and carefully avoid the con- 
traction of any obligations to officials. 

'• Thirty years ago/' says Richardson,* who was 
one of the twenty-six correspondents at the capital 
after the close of the War, " it was connnon custom 
for men of the highest rank to visit the newspaper 
offices. In old Newspaper Row as it used to exist 
there might be found any evening senators, repre- 
sentatives, cabinet ministers, now and then the vice- 
president, foreign ministers, prominent Federal of- 
ficials from the large cities of the country, gov- 
ernors of states, etc. In the phrase then common 
among Washington correspondents, every one of 
them had his own senator, representative or cabinet 
member who came to his office and told him the 
news. All confidences of public men were regarded 
as inviolate, and I recall no incident of consequence 
where it was ever betrayed. On the contrary, the 
correspondents have faced the formal displeasure of 
the Senate and the House rather than give up the 
name of their informant." 

Although he is almost necessarily partisan, the 
Washington correspondent seldom suffers any cur- 
tailment of his mental breadth. His position de- 
mands so many admirable and useful qualities that 
it is no wonder that he frequently deserts his pro- 
fession for less arduous and more lucrative pursuits. 

* Recollections of a Correspondent, Records of the Columbia 
Historical Society, Volume 6, 



262 WASHINGTON. 

Many have been appointed to important Govern- 
ment offices, generally on account of their personal 
abilities rather than their literary services. In- 
deed, it has come to be widely recognized in recent 
years that a capable journalist almost invariably 
makes an able man of affairs. Xot a few Wash- 
ington correspondents have taken prominent posi- 
tions in commercial corporations. Some have be- 
come editors or publishers of large dailies and 
others have stuck to the life they loved, despite its 
exactions, dying in harness, rich in the respect of 
their fellows and their host of friends. 

The work of the Washington correspondent is the 
most important in American journalism. It is he 
who informs the people as to what their Govern- 
ment is doing and the manner in which their rep- 
resentatives are acquitting themselves. He often 
prepares the public mind for some important legis- 
lative or administrative action which otherwise 
might create widespread misunderstanding or gen- 
eral distrust. He seizes a news item of vital con- 
cern, perhaps, late in the afternoon, scurries around 
and gets his details, digests them and sets his story 
forth in clear forceful language. Then Avhilst the 
millions slumber he keeps the wires hot so that his 
despatch, maybe occupying two columns of the 
paper, lies on the most distant breakfast tables the 
next morning. It is a hard life and one in which 
few men succeed. 



JOUENALISM IN WASHINGTON. 263 

N'o account of journalism in Washington could 
approximate completeness without some description 
of the Gridiron Club, the most famous association 
of its kind in the world. 

It has been said, that at the close of the Civil 
W^ar there were somewhat more than a score of 
correspondents permanently stationed at Washing- 
ton. As their number — which now exceeds two 
hundred — increased with time, they began to feel 
the need of some social organization that should 
aiford entertainment for their leisure hours and 
promote cordial relations amongst them. The im- 
mediate outcome was a press club of the ordinary 
character which, however, failed to satisfy the un- 
defined but distinctly existent desire of these news- 
paper men. 

The birth of the Gridiron Club dates from a 
dinner given by Judge E. Y. Crowell, one of the 
Auditors of the Treasury, to a number of Washing- 
ton correspondents in January, 1885. The 
speeches of the evening elicited the suggestion of a 
club, one of the most prominent features of which 
should be the entertainment of their friends by the 
correspondents. Two weeks later, a number of the 
latter met at Welcker's famous restaurant to discuss 
the matter. As those present included the most 
talented and best known journalists of the day, sev- 
eral of whom have since become prominent in public 
life, their names will be of interest to the reader : 



2C4 WASHINGTON. 

C. A. Boynton, Western Associated Press. 

II. V. Bojnton, Cincinnati Commercial Gazette. 

John M. Carson, Philadelphia Ledger. 

F. C. Crawford, Pittsburg Commercial Gazette. 

P. V. DeGraw, Xew York Associated Press. 

Frank A. Depuy, Xew York Times. 

F. G. Bunnell, N'ew York Times. 

Fdwin Fleming, St. Louis Republican. 

F. A. G. Handy, Chicago Times. 

Perry S. Heath, Indianapolis Journal. 

A. W. Lyman, Xew York Sun. 

David R. McKee, New York Associated Press. 

Charles T. Murray, Philadelphia Times. 

H. B. F. Macfarland, Boston Herald. 

J. J. Noah, New York Star. 

C. M. Ogden, Philadelphia Press. 

Ben Perley Poore, Providence Journal. 

Fred Perry Powers, Chicago Times. 

M. G. SecLndorff, New York Tribune. 

0. O. Stealey, Louisville Courier Journal. 

E. B. Wright, Chicago Tribune. 

Robert J. Wynne, Cincinnati Commercial Ga- 
zette. 

At this meeting a plan was formed and one week 
later the Gridiron Club was organized with the fol- 
lowing officers: President, Ben Perley Poore; 
Vice President, John M. Carson ; Secretary and 
Treasurer, Charles T. Murray. 

The first dinners of the Club, which were held 



JOUEKALISM IN WASHINGTON. 265 

each month at Welcker's, drew but a sparse at- 
tendance — at the fifth there were but seven mem- 
bers and three guests at the table. The organiza- 
tion was hardly ever mentioned in print at that time 
and the immense popularity that it enjoys at present 
is the culmination of a steady but slow success. 
From the first, however, the brains and energies of 
its members were devoted to making its entertain- 
ments unique. Gradually it gained a reputation 
for the originality and cleverness of the intellectual 
features of its feasts and later, as well, for the 
distinguished character of its guests. With so 
many men of exceptional parts working together 
towards the same end, the ultimate result could not 
be anything but unbounded success. 

Among the earliest rules adopted by the Club, 
are two which particularly affect the character of 
its dinners. One of these is that " Reporters are 
never present " and its rigid obser^-ance makes pos- 
sible the freedom of speech that is one of the uniqtie 
features of these gatherings. An annual dinner of 
the Gridiron will command a full page of the lead- 
ing papers but the account will not contain a line 
of the speeches delivered on the occasion. On one 
occasion only has this observance been deviated 
from and then for the convenience of a guest i he 
Tenth Annual Dinner of the Gridiron Club num- 
bered among the guests, Monsignor Satolh, the first 
Papal Legate of the Holy See in the I nited States. 



266 WASllIXGTON. 

Being unacquainted with the rule regarding the 
publication of speeches made at its board, tlie dis- 
tinguished visitor planned to deliver at the dinner 
an address explaining his presence in America and 
(h'fining the object of his mission. There was a 
great deal of public interest and speculation on the 
subject and the (Hub decided, for the benefit of 
newspaper readers, to waive its regulation regard- 
ing publicity in this instance, so that the journals 
of the following morning might contain the im- 
portant announcement. 

The second rule in question admits of no possible 
suspension and at the opening of every Gridiron 
bancpict the President brings it to the attention of 
the assemblage. It is that " ladies are always con- 
structively present." Wit and hilarity hold sway 
at a Gridiron feast but they are always clean, 
wholesome and refined. The little gold griddle that 
one sees in the lapel of many men in Washington 
is frequently taken as the mark of llio hon vivant 
but it may safely be accepted as the badge of the 
gentleman. 

The Gridiron remains, as it was at the beginning, 
a club exclusively of newspaper correspondents. It 
has consistently refused to admit to membershi]) 
any but men actively engaged in journalism. Some 
years ago, when the organization had grown into 
pronounced pojmlarity, several Senators and Repre- 
sentatives applied for admission as limited mem- 



JOURNALISM IN WASHINGTON. 267 

bers and, although the matter was taken into con- 
sideration, it was wisely decided to maintain the 
distinctive character of its composition. The mem- 
bership includes resident, non-resident and limited 
members. The active resident membership is lim- 
ited to forty, some of whom are not now engaged 
in journalism, although all must have been at the 
time of their election. There is always a large 
waiting list of applicants. On the non-resident list 
may be found the names of many w^ll-known men 
who have left their work in Washington to occupy 
the editor's desk or some equally responsible posi- 
tion on the paper they once represented at the na- 
tion's capital ; not a few, too, wdio have aban- 
doned their former profession for some other field 
of effort but whatever their present vocation, they 
are journalists for an evening three or four times 
a year when they attend a Gridiron dinner and 
wish, perchance, that they were back in the old 
circle of good-fellowship. 

The Club gives three '^ annual " dinners and a 
summer outing each year. On one of these oc- 
casions there will be present tw^o hundred and fifty 
or more persons, the guests including the President 
and Vice President of the United States, members 
of the Cabinet, Justices of the Supreme Court, am- 
bassadors and ministers from foreign countries, 
prominent members of Congress, high officers of the 
Army and ^^avy, and leading men in every other 



268 WASHINGTON. 

walk of life. At no other similar occasion in 
America, and perhaps not in the world, is such a 
distinguished company ever gathered around one 
table. 

Any one wlio i>; willing to pay the price may 
readily secure an o])icurean meal, but, nowhere else 
in the world can money connnand such an enter- 
tainment as enlivens a Gridiron dinner, because 
the mise en scene and peculiar conditions are no- 
where else to be found. Between the courses are 
sandwiched burlesques, skits, and jokes, relating 
to current topics of public interest and generally 
involving some of the prominent guests. The 
whole fanciful program which includes a nund)er of 
comic songs composed for the occasion, is carefully 
prepared by the members beforehand and always 
displays a great deal of wit and cleverness. 

At the time that Secretary Taft was talked of 
in connection with a seat on the Supreme Bench 
and was also contemplated as a probable presidential 
candidate, he attended a Gridiron dinner, when a 
mimic messenger boy handed him a pretended tele- 
gram at the table which ran as follows: 

" Taft : Don't commit yourself on the presi- 
dential (lue^^tinn until you have seen me. Have 
been talking to Fuller. Brewer." All three of 
the dignitaries mentioned were present and none 
enjoyed the pleasantry more than themselves. 

When the country was swept by the Democratic 



JOURNALISM IN WASHINGTON. 269 

tidal wave of 1890, the result of the election natur- 
ally offered the principal peg upon which to hang 
the star features of the evening at the dinner that 
followed. It will be remembered that the contest 
for Speaker of the House in the ensuing Congress 
was an historic one. Upon the occasion in ques- 
tion, Representative Crisp, who was eventually the 
successful candidate, occupied a seat at the festive 
board of the Gridironers. AYhen the President of 
the Club called ujDon Mr. Crisp, the members in 
chorus broke out with a parody on a well-known 
hymn, thus : 

" I want to be a Speaker, and with the Speakers stand, 
A book of rules before me, a gavel in my hand, 
And when the caucus meets here, I'm going for to try- 
To be elected Speaker, or know the reason why." 

Satire, the favorite medium for witticism as a 
rule, is tabooed at Gridiron dinners. A guest may 
find himself the object of the general merriment 
but the good humor and open-heartedness that per- 
vade the gathering preclude any unpleasantness and 
soon relieve temporary embarrassment. Old-timers 
— and there are distinguished public men who have 
become chronic Gridiron diners — generally like 
to be singled out for a distinct share of the current 
persiflage and know that the recital of the fact in 
the morrow's paper will raise them in the estima- 
tion of their constituents more than would the re- 
port of a long speech delivered in Congress, 



270 WASHINGTON. 

Many members of the Gridiron Club have been 
called upon to serve the country in the service of 
the Government. To cite a few of the most recent 
instances: A few years ago, Hon. Robert J. 
Wynne, who was president of the Club in 1902, re- 
ceived the appointment of First Assistant Post- 
master General — a position Avhich had been held 
by Hon. Perry Heath, another Gridiron member, 
in a preceding administration. Mr. Wynne later 
became Postmaster General. General Henry V. 
Boynton, now deceased, was president of the Chicka- 
maugiia Commission, and had been one of the char- 
ter members of the Gridiron. Hon. Henry B. F. 
Macfarland and the Hon. Henry L. West, members 
of the Board of Commissioners of the District of 
Columbia, have both been Presidents of the Club. 
Other members, Avho hold important positions un- 
der the Government are P. V. DeGraw, Francis E. 
Leupp, James Rankin Young, and John M. Carson. 



CHAPTEE XI. 

SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 

When the Government took np its seat in the 
District of Columbia, there were but two centers in 
the vicinity of the capital that could boast of a 
polite society. Those were x\lexandria and George- 
town. There were besides, a few scattered man- 
sions where a refined and elegant standard of liv- 
ing was maintained, such, for instance, as Mount 
Airy, near Bladensburg, Motley Hall, Duddington, 
and the residence of Thomas Law. The region 
was distinctly Southern and the customs were those 
of the old English colonial period. Sir Augustus 
Foster, an attache of the British legation during 
Jefferson's presidency, says: 

^^ There were a number of rich proprietors in the 
State of Maryland. In the district around "Wash- 
ington, I was assured there were five hundred per- 
sons possessing estates which returned them an in- 
come of one thousand pounds. Mr. Lloyd, a mem- 
ber of Congress on the Eastern Branch, possessed 
a net revenue of betw^een six and seven thousand 
pounds, with which he had only to buy clothes for 

271 



272 WASHINGTON. 

liiiiiself and family, wines, equipage, furniture and 
ritlier luxuries. ~Mr. Tavloe also whose whole in- 
come exceeded fifteen thousand pounds per annum, 
held three thousand acres which his father bought 
for five hundred pounds. He possessed five hun- 
dred slaves, built brigs and schooners, worked iron 
mines, converted the iron into ploughshares — and 
all this w^as done bv the hands of his own subjects." 
Most of the members of Congress, he tells us, 
kept to their lodgings and lived in comparative se- 
clusion, but there w^ere not a few who cultivated 
the social virtues and whose families came to the 
capital for a season. Frequent balls were given at 
Georgetown and Sir Augustus, wdio may be pre- 
sumed to have had some experience in the old world, 
declares that he never saw prettier girls anywhere. 
'' As there were but few of them, however, in pro- 
portion to the great number of men who frequented 
the places of amusement in the Federal City, it is 
one of the most marrying places in the whole con- 
tinent — a truth which was beginning to be found 
out and became by and by the cause of vast num- 
bers flocking thither, all round from the four points 
of the compass. . . . Maugre the march of in- 
tellect so much vaunted in the present century, the 
litcrarv education of these ladies is far from beinsr 
worthy of the age of knowledge, and conversation 
is apt to flag, though a seat by the ladies is much 
coveted. Dancing and music served to eke out the 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 273 

time, but one got to be heartily sick of hearing the 
same song everywhere, even when it was, ' Just like 
Love is yonder Rose.' No matter how this was 
sung, the words alone w^ere the man-traps ; the belle 
of the evening was declared to be just like both — 
and people looked around as if the listener was 
expected to become on the instant very tender and 
to propose — and sometimes such a result does in 
reality take place; both parties when betrothed use 
a great deal of billing and cooing." He declares 
that some of the ladies "contract an aversion to 
water, and as a substitute, cover their faces and 
bosoms with hair-powder in order to render their 
skins pure and delicate." 

" In going to assemblies one had sometimes to 
drive three or four miles within the city bounds, 
and very often at the great risk of an overturn, or 
of being what is termed ' stalled,' or stuck in the 
mud, when one can neither get backward nor for- 
ward, and either loses one's shoes or one's patience. 
. . . Cards were a great resource of an evening, 
and gaming was all the fashion, at brag, especially, 
for the men wdio frequented society were chiefly 
from Virginia, or the Western States, and were very 
fond of this, the most gambling of all games. 
. . . Loo was the innocent diversion of the 
ladies, who when they were ' looed ' pronounced the 
word in a very mincing manner. . . . Church 
service can certainly never be called an amusement ; 
18 



274 WASHINGTON. 

but from the variety of persons who were allowed to 
preach in the House of Representatives, there 
doubtless was some alloy of curiosity in the motives 
Avhich led one to go there. Though the regular 
chaplain was a Presbyterian, sometimes a Metho- 
dist, a minister of the Church of England, or a 
(Quaker, and sometimes even a woman, took the 
Speaker's chair; and I do not think there was much 
devotion among the majority." But, withal. Sir 
AugTistus formed the opinion that Washington was 
the most agreeable place of residence for a lengthy 
stay. " The opportunity of collecting information 
from Senators and Representatives from all parts 
of the country, the hospitality of the heads of the 
government and the corps diplomatique of itself 
supplied resources such as could nowhere else be 
looked for." 

The newspapers of the time in Washington, of 
which the earliest was the Times and Potowmack 
Faclxet, started in 1789, give us interesting glimpses 
of the manners and customs of our forefathers and 
the condition of the country when it emerged from 
its successful struggle for liberty. The election of 
a sheriff in 1797, caused a great deal of excitement 
and an echo of the occasion is found in the obituary 
notice of " Mr. James Aull, another victim to the 
disorderly mode of election in this State." In Sep- 
tember of the same year, the editor of the V^^asli- 
incjion Gazette makes an announcement, prompted 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 275 

by his desire to induce immigration : " Any gen- 
teel family from either of the cities of Philadelphia 
or Baltimore may be accommodated with four con- 
venient apartments in a good house and pleasant 
situation imtil the first of May next — GRATIS — 
and if a person in business, with a large store and 
cellar, suitable for dry goods and groceries — on 
reasonable terms — Apply to the printer." 

About the same time, Miss Ann Vidler opens a 
day school for young ladies at Greenleaf's Point 
and undertakes to teach them ^' Reading, plain, 
open and tambour work," and a little later a French 
miniature painter makes the following announce- 
ment: '' Major Vermonnet informs the Ladies and 
Gentlemen who are desirous of having their like- 
nesses taken, that he will be happy in serving them, 
if they will honour him by calling at his house in 
the city, near Dr. Coningham's Brew-House." 

The public is informed that Lewis Clephane will 
pay " half a cent reward, without thanks or 
charges," to whoever will return his runaway ap- 
prentice. David Burnes inserts the following card : 
" I hereby forewarn all persons from hunting with 
Dog or Gun, within my enclosures or along my 
shores ; likewise, cutting down Timbers, Saplings, 
Bushes, or Wood of any kind, carrying off and burn- 
ing Fence logs, any old wood on the shores, or in the 
woods. If I should find any person tresspassing 
as above, I will write to my attorney, and suits will 



276 WASHINGTON. 

be commenced against the tresspassers in the general 
Courts." It may be noticed that whilst the '" Dog" 
comes in for a share of the liberal distribution of 
capitals in the foregoing, '' my attorney " is not 
equally distinguished. In the next issue of the 
Gazette a curious citizen wishes to be informed 
where David Burnes's shores may be and ^' like- 
wise where his own property lays, within his en- 
closures," — this in evident allusion to the fact that 
the greater part of the property in question had 
been deeded to the Connnissioners. Personal con- 
troversy carried on in the colunms of the press was 
a common custom of the day. Greenleaf and Nich- 
olson — much to the disgust of Morris — thus 
''aired their dirty linen" and injured themselves 
by the publicity given to their affairs. 

The author of '' The Freaks of Columbia" is 
'' preparing for the press, a play in three acts enti- 
tled * The Executor is the Heir at Law ' " and will 
bcnd it to press " so soon as five hundred persons 
have subscribed. It will be printed on good paper 
and with tolerably good type — Price to subscrib- 
ers 371/2 cents, payable at the time of subscribing." 
If it was ever published the copies have all disap- 
peared. 

During the times of Jefferson and Madison, the 
Tammanv Societv of Washington was an orcani- 
zation with numerous members. At one of its 
pow-wows. Sachem Smith delivered himself of the 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 277 

following, after the flamboyant style of the period : 
'^ Gracious God ! Are the scenes of La Vendee to 
be reacted in this country? Forbid it, ye shades 
of Washington, Franklin, Greene, Warren and 
Montgomery ! I am at a loss for words to express 
my indignation at the conduct of these modern Cata- 
lines. ' Is there not some chosen curse, some hidden 
thunder in the stores of Heaven, red with uncom- 
mon wrath, to blast the man ' who w^ould raise him- 
self to greatness ' or his country to ruin ' ? " Alas, 
for the decadence of oratory! 

The first circulating library in the city was 
" opened this day (June 1, 1801) first door west of 
President's square, on Pennsylvania Avenue." 
That must have been where the Mills Building now 
stands. James Lyon was the enterprising individ- 
ual who projected this public utility which was 
afterwards carried on by R. R. Dinmore. The 
same James Lyon published The National Maga- 
zine, "' a political, biographical, historical and lit- 
erary repository." It was mainly devoted to poli- 
tics of a partisan character. The editor declares 
that the receipt of sixty-six subscriptions from the 
State of Connecticut, leads us into a region of won- 
ders. ^^ This is the State that sends to Congress 
seven of the most bullying, servile sattelites (sic) 
that tremble at the ^od of John Adams or lick the 
dust at the feet of Robert Linton ; this is the State 
which gives to the Senate a Tracey, who wished to 



278 WASHINGTON. 

wage a war of ' EXTINGUISHMENT ' ! to ^ arm 
every man, woman and child in the Union, against 
every man, woman and child in Erance,' yet this 
State has already produced to me GQ subscribers 
— This looks as if the people of Connecticut were 
beginning to think for themselves." 

Warden, who wrote in 1816, found '' the inhabi- 
tants of the District of Columbia social and hospi- 
table. At Washington respectable strangers, after 
the slightest introduction, are," he says, '^ invited to 
dinner, tea, balls, and evening parties. Those at 
the house of the President of the United States 
united simplicity with the greatest refinement of 
manners. Tea parties have become very exjDensive, 
as not only tea, but coffee, negus, cakes, sweet- 
meats, iced-creams, wines and liquors are often pre- 
sented ; and on a sultry summer evening, are foimd 
too palatable to be refused. In winter there is a 
succession of family balls, where all the species of 
luxury is exhibited. In the territory of Columbia 
women have no reason to complain of the degrada- 
tion to which they are exposed by the tyrant man. 
Free and innocent, they go where they please, boA 
before and after marriage, and have no need to 
have recourse to dissimulation and cunning for their 
own repose and that of their husbands." 

Warden mentions a number of '' peculiar cus- 
toms," of which the following are some: ''Both 
sexes, whether on horseback or on foot, wear an um- 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 279 

brella in ail seasons ; in summer, to Iveep otf the sun- 
beams, in winter as a shelter from the rain and 
snow; in spring and autumn, to intercept the dews 
of the evening. Persons of all ranks canter their 
horses, which movement fatigues the animal, and 
has an ungraceful appearance. Gentlemen wear the 
hat in a carriage with a lady as in England. 

^' x\t dinner, and tea parties, the ladies sit to- 
gether, and seldom mix with the gentlemen, whose 
conversation naturally turns on political subjects. 
In almost all houses, toddy is offered to guests a few 
minutes before dinner. In summer, invitation to 
tea parties is made verbally by a servant, the same 
day the party is given. In winter, the invitation is 
more ceremonious. 

^' Boarders in boarding-houses, or in taverns, 
sometimes throw off the coat during the heat of sum- 
mer; and in winter, the shoes, for the purpose of 
w^arming the feet at the fire — customs which the 
climate can only excuse. 

" Any particular attention to a lady is readily 
construed into an intention of marriage. 

'"^ The barber arrives on horseback to perform the 
operation of shaving; and here, as in Europe, he is 
the organ of all news and scandal." 

In the first half century of Washington's exist- 
ence, it contained very few hotels but a multiplicity 
of boarding-houses. Members of Congress, with 
few exceptions, made their homes at these places. 



280 WASHINGTON. 

■\vliere thej formed messes and roomed two or three 
together. Jefferson was lodging thus near the Cap- 
itol at the time of his inauguration and walked from 
his boarding-house to the Senate Chamber, return- 
ing to his accustomed place for dinner after the 
ceremony. The Justices of the Supreme Court 
lodged and messed together in similar fashion in 
the early years, at a house kept by Mrs. E. Dunn, 
near the Capitol. As late as 1842, they resided in 
one house ^' for the greater convenience of consulta- 
tion." 

The race-course was one of the earliest and most 
popular institutions of the city. Doctor Cutler 
thus describes it in 1803 : " The race ground is an 
old field with somewhat of a rising in the center. 
The race path is made about fifty feet wide, meas- 
uring just one mile from the bench of the judges 
round to the stage again. In the center of this cir- 
cle a prodigious number of booths are erected, 
which stand upon the highest part of the ground. 
Under them are tables spread much like the booths 
at commencement (at Cambridge), but on the top, 
for they are all built of boards on platforms to ac- 
commodate spectators. At the time of the racing 
these are filled Avith people of all descriptions. On 
the western side and without the circle is rising- 
ground, where the carriages of the most respectable 
people take their stand. These, if they were not 
all Democrats, I should call the noblesse. Their 



SOClxlL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 281 

carnages are elegant, and their attendants and serv- 
ants numerous. They are from different parts of 
the Southern and Middle States, and filled prin- 
cipally with ladies, and about one hundred in num- 
ber. . . . While the horses were running, the 
whole ground within the circle was spread over 
with people on horseback stretching round full speed 
to different parts of the circle to see the race. This 
was a striking part of the show, for it was supposed 
there were about 800 on horseback, and many of 
them mounted on excellent horses. There were 
about 200 carriages and between 3,000 and 4,000 
people — black, and white, and yellow; of all con- 
ditions from the President of the United States to 
the beggar in his rags ; of all ages, and of both sexes, 
for I should judge one-third were females." 

In January, 1824, Mrs. Adams gave the famous 
ball, at her residence, 1333 F Street, in honor of 
" the hero of Xew Orleans." An Englishman, 
named Agge, wrote some clever verses on the occa- 
sion, the following being one of them : 

"Wend you with the world to-night? 
East and West, South and North, 
Form a constellation bright 
And pour a blended brilliance forth; 
See the tide of fashion flowing, 
'Tis the noon of beauty's reign — 
Webster, Hamilton are going. 
Eastern Lloyd and Southern Hayne 
Western Thomas, gayly smiling, 
Boaland, nature's protege, 



282 WASHINGTON. 

. Young De Wolf, all hearts beguiling, 
Morgan, Benton, Brown and Lee, 
Belles and matrons, maids and madames. 
All are gone to ]\lrs. Adams'." 

The ball costume of the ladies of that j^eriod is 
described as with " skirts of five breadths, a quarter 
of a yard each, of the favorite Indian crape, co- 
quettishly short for the freer display of the slipper 
and silk stocking, matching the color of the gown, 
and fastened with ribbons crossed over the ankle and 
instep. The low baby waist, ingenious and frank, 
came to an end abruptly under the arms, which were 
covered with gloves so fine that they were some- 
times stowed cunningly in the shell of an English 
walnut. The hair, dressed high, was crowned with 
a comb of tortoise shell ; white turban and ostrich 
feathers were the peculiar ensigns of wives and ma- 
trons." 

Josiah Quincy, in his reminiscences of this time, 
says '' the evening parties were the social features, 
at which everybody appeared who occupied the nec- 
essary social position." Guests arrived promptly at 
eight and left at eleven o'clock, '^ having eu joyed the 
recreation of dancing, card-playing, music and con- 
versation." The first entertainment of the sort 
which he attended was one given by [Mrs. Wirt and 
to which he was taken by Daniel Webster. He was 
much impr(^ssod by tlie daugliter of the house and 
by the '' ])retty, learned, and agreeable Mrs. Hoff- 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 283 

man, of Baltimore." But all were surpassed by 
Mrs. Florida White '^ whose beauty was the admira- 
tion of Washington." 

He describes a function given by Mrs. Johnston, 
of Louisiana, in February, 1820, where was " found 
a crowd in comparison with which all other crowds 
that I have experienced sunk into nothing. . . . 
As there was no dancing, I contented myself with 
moving in the current around the room, first con- 
ducting Mrs. Florida White, and afterwards Mrs. 
David Hoffman. By the latter lady I was intro- 
duced to Miss Cora Livingstone, and I must be able 
to paint the rose to describe a lady who is undoubt- 
edly the greatest belle in the United States. In the 
first place, she is not handsome; I mean not tran- 
scendantly handsome. She has a fine figure, a 
pretty face, dances well, and dresses to admiration. 
It is the height of the ton to be her admirer, and she 
is certainly the belle of the country." 

Mr. Quincy was a guest at a number of brilliant 
balls given at the different legations, where his 
impressible temperament was successively stirred by 
contact with Miss Catharine Van Rensselaer, of Al- 
bany, Miss Morpin, of Kentucky, Aliss Tayloe, of 
Washington, and other beauties. He attended a 
number of dinners, too, one of the most pleasant 
being that which " took place at :Miss liver's board- 
ing-house, given by the gentlemen lodgers, who, by 
a small subscription, added a few dishes to the ordi- 



284 WASHINGTON. 

nary bill of fare." In this connection, he remarks, 
^' that the use of wine and spirits was practically 
universal. . . . Xobody thought it possible to 
dine without one or the other. At the boarding- 
houses and hotels every guest had his bottle or his 
interest in a bottle." In fact, in many such places 
liquor was included in the price of entertainment 
and most hotels had bottles on the table for the free 
use of the guests. 

Twice the narrator '^ dined at the White House; 
the first time with Charles King and Albert Galla- 
tin." The occasion was enlivened by the ^' amusing 
utterances of the President and Mr. King, who 
talked as if they were under bonds to furnish en- 
tertainment for the party." The other affair was 
'' a state dinner of forty ladies and gentlemen, very 
splendid and rather stiff." Only the presence by 
his side of the pretty Miss Bullett, of Kentucky, re- 
lieved " the icy monotony of that solemn dinner of 
high state." 

At a public ball at Caru^i's, Qnincy " saw the 
waltz introduced into society for the first time. The 
conspicuous performer was Baron Stackelburg, who 
whirled through the mazes with a huge pair of 
dragoon spurs bound to his heels. The danger of 
interfering with the other dancers, which seemed al- 
ways imminent, was skilfully avoided by the Baron, 
who received a murmur of n]^preciative applause as 
he led his partner to her seat." 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 285 

Could the Baron have been tlie '^foreign diplo- 
mat, recognized as a leader of society," who created 
a sensation in the year memorable for the intro- 
duction of the waltz, by appearing upon Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue mounted on a velocipede, newly im- 
ported from London. '^ People assembled en masse 
in eager expectation, along the way, under the 
scraggy poplars that bordered the broad highway, 
to witness the exhibition, and gazed in amazement 
at the dignified struggles of a gentleman in high 
life straddling a pommeled saddle between two 
wheels, and pushing himself along over the uneven 
surface of the dirt roadway, first Avith one foot, 
and then with the other, pressing against the earth, 
so that as the front foot tipped the ground along- 
side of the front axle the toes of the hind foot left 
their print alongside of the hind axle. lie held 
the handle bars with firm grasp of both hands, and 
with head erect looked straight to the front from 
the eye sockets. He was dressed in knee breeches, 
with buckles and pumps, dress coat, rufiled shirt 
and a high silk hat pressed closely down to his ears. 
In profile the gallant velocipedist exhibited a pictur- 
esque personation of an amateur athlete standing 
on tiptoe astraddle two wheels on parade before a 
multitude gaping with surprise and wonderment." 
In the thirties, dinner parties were favorite forms 
of entertainment. They were, we are told, '' very 
much alike, and those who were in succession guests 



286 WASHINGTON. 

at different houses often saw the same table orna- 
ments, and were served by the same waiters, while 
the fare was prepared by the same cook. The 
guests were wont to assemble in the parlor, which 
was almost invariably connected with the dining- 
room by large folding doors. When the dinner was 
ready the folding doors were thrown open and the 
table was revealed, covered with dishes and cut- 
glass ware. Soup Avas invariably served, followed 
by boiled fish, overdone roast beef or mutton, roast 
fowl or game in season, and a great variety of 
puddings, pies, cakes and ice-cream. The fish, 
meat, and fowl were carved and helped by the host, 
while the lady of the house distributed vegetables, 
the pickles and dessert. Champagne, without ice, 
was sparingly supplied in long, slender glasses, but 
there was no lack of sound claret, and with the 
dessert several bottles of old madeira were gen- 
erally produced by the host, who succinctly gave 
the age and history of each. 

" At the evening parties the carpet was lifted 
from the room set apart for dancing, and the floor 
was chalked with colors to protect the dancers from 
slipping. The music was almost invariably a first 
and second violin, Avith flute and harp accompani- 
ments. Light refreshments, such as water-ice, lem- 
onade, negus, and small cakes, were handed about 
on w^aiters between every two or three dances. The 
crowning i;l« •ry, however, of the entertuinnient was 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 287 

the supper, whicli had been prepared under the 
supervision of the hostess, aided by some of her 
intimate friends who had loaned their china and 
silverware. The table was covered with a la mode 
beef, cold roast turkey, ducks, and chickens; fried 
and stewed oysters, blanc-niange, jellies, whips, 
floating islands, candied oranges, and numerous 
varieties of tarts and cakes. Very often the young- 
men, after having escorted the young ladies to their 
respective homes, would meet again at some oyster- 
house to go on a lark, in imitation of the young 
English bloods in the favorite parts of ^ Tom and 
Jerry.' Singing, or rather shouting popular songs, 
they would break windows, wrench off knockers, 
call up doctors, and transpose sign-boards ; nor was 
there a night-w^atchman to interfere with their 
roistering." 

A British Alinister to Washington at the period 
just preceding the Civil War, has left a picture 
of society at the capital as he found it. He tells 
us that "- winter time is the season of gaiety at 
Washington, and well the Americans economize 
every moment. They wisely prefer seeing their 
friends, to being merely acquainted with the out- 
side of their doors, as so frequently hapi)ens in 
London. Instead, therefore, of packs of cards bo- 
ing exchanged — most fruitless folly, — each lady 
proclaims to her acquaintances which day of the 
week she will receive from twelve to four, and in 



288 WASHINGTON. 

that way has the pleasure, not only of really meet- 
ing her friends weekly, but also has the option of 
six days to herself unmolested by visitors. 

" To give an idea of the working of this system 
— Monday, all the government ministers' wives re- 
ceive; Tuesday, all the senators' wives; Wednes- 
day, the houses of the diplomats are thrown open ; 
Thursday, the judges' wives entertain; and so 
on from one week's end to another, all the winter. 
In this way those who wish can pay eight or ten 
visits a day in proportion to the time they wish 

to kin. 

^' Let me briefly describe a morning reception in 
the height of the season: At the door stands the 
lady of the house, resplendent in the la^^t ultra- 
French fashions, ready with a compliment for every 
newcomer, who must return the same, both capital 
aiul interest, and besides assuring her she looks 
' quite lovely,' must titillate her vanity by insinuat- 
ing how superior her reception is to the eight or 
ten he has already visited. . . . The visitor, 
having discharged his volley of pretty nothings, 
then rushes boldly into the busy talking throng, 
which gives the salon the appearance of an auction- 
room, as the talkers seldom sit down. Such a buzz 
as tliere is, such significant little groups, canvassing 
with the utmost volubility and vehemence the cur- 
rent topics of the day, the last duel murder, row 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 289 

in the House of Kepresentatives, or savage onslaught 
in the Senate. 

'^ The young ladies generally cluster round the 
inevitable refreshment table, and, while distributing 
broiled oysters, chocolate cakes, and wine, keep at 
least six or eight beaux each in full talk. Some- 
times, in the largest houses — such as that of the 
late Senator Douglas — the shutters would be shut, 
the gas lighted, the musicians summoned, and a 
dance got up, which would last with unflagging 
energy till six in the evening, when the exhausted 
dancers found a ball-supper prepared to revive 
them. 

'^ But there is one entertainment which can be 
seen nowhere else — a Presidential Keception. 
Such a motley crew throng in at the door, — 
rowdies, cab-drivers, belles, beaux; diplomats, like 
the new discovered fossil, half golden-scaled lizard, 
half-crested bird; last, not least, a troop of Red 
Indians in war paint, with their best necklaces of 
bears' claws, come to do honor to the gi'eat father. 
Having first shaken hands with the President, who 
stood in the center of a large salon, we waited to 
watch the behavior of the crowd. One and all in- 
sisted on vigorously shaking the poor President's 
hand, holding up afterwards thei-r dirty brats to 
be kissed. The next day the President had rheu- 
matism in his arm, and no wonder." 
19 



290 WASHINGTON. 

Naturally enough, the society of Washington was 
disrupted by the War and for a decade following 
1860, it remained in a more or less chaotic condi- 
tion. A writer in the Atlantic thus described the 
population of the capital at the time it was a camp: 
^' If the beggars of Dublin, the cripples of Con- 
stantinople, and the lepers of Damascus should as- 
semble in Baden-Baden during a Congress of Kings, 
then Baden-Baden would resemble Washington, 
Presidents, Senators, Honorables, Judges, Generals, 
Commodores, Governors, and the Exs of all these, 
congregate here as thick as pickpockets at a horse 
race, or women at a wedding in church. iVdd Am- 
bassadors, Plenipotentiaries, Lords, Counts, Barons, 
Chevaliers, the great and small fry of the Lega- 
tions, Captains, Lieutenants, Claim-Agents, Ne- 
groes, Perpetual-Motion-Men, Fire-Eaters, Irish- 
men, Plug-Uglies, Hoosiers, Gamblers, Californians, 
Mexicans, Japanese, Indians, and Organ-Grinders, 
together with females to match all varieties of males, 
and you have a vagne notion of the people of 
Washington." 

After the close of the War, Washington was re- 
lieved of the worst elements of the heterogeneous 
floating population that had gathered at the seat of 
the conflict with motives as mixed as its composi- 
tion. There were many, however, Avho remained 
and many more who were attracted to the capital 
at this time, so that its population more than 



SOCIAL LIFE m THE CAPITAL. 291 

doubled in a decade. Wlieu society resumed its 
sway, it presented anything but an attractive as- 
pect. There were too many nouveaux riches, 
some of them with questionably-acquired fortunes. 
There was a tendency to display and extravagance 
that did not escape downright vulgarity. The pro- 
fusion and exuberance were, however, due in large 
measure to the joy of regained peace and the in- 
toxication of success. Whatever the cause, its effect 
soon passed away and the social life of Washington 
assumed the serene dignity and sane enjoyment of 
pleasure that has ever since characterized it. 

The people of Washington differ in several re- 
spects from those of any other large city of the 
country. The nearest resemblance — and that is 
not close — is to be found in the population of one 
of our university towns. The men one passes on 
the streets of the capital are a distinct type. They 
are well dressed, well fed and not overworked. 
They look, and are, unusually intelligent, for the 
center of government draws to it the best brains 
of the country. There is none of the care-worn 
stream of humanity that flows through Broadway, 
or State Street, to be seen on Pennsylvania Avenue. 
There are thousands of hard workers in Washing- 
ton but things are so ordered that all, with the 
possible exception of the very highest, get a reason- 
able amount of leisure. Xowhere in this country 
can the man of intellect so readily find congenial 



292 WASHINGTON. 

associations ; nowhere can the man of refined tastes 
find so agreeable an atmosphere. 

About twenty years ago, persons of wealth and 
fashion began to find Washington an attractive place 
for a short sojourn in the Avinter months and 
gradually they learned that it afforded a most 
pleasant abode for the entire season. With that, 
one millionaire after another followed the example 
of Mr. Leiter and erected a mansion at the capital. 
Eich senators, too, built liberally and entertained 
extensively. The legations, beginning with that of 
the British on Connecticut Avenue, commenced to 
house themselves in palatial style. Even foreigners 
followed suit, and several of them now have winter 
residences at our capital. Thus, during the past 
decade Washington society has become truly na- 
tional and at the same time somewhat cosmopolitan 
in character. 

There are in Washington certain, more or less, 
exclusive circles as there are in every large city, 
but nowhere is personal merit better appreciated, 
or more readily recognized. To the man of talent 
or social brilliancy, doors open more easily than 
they would elsewhere, and the size of his bank ac- 
count is of less consideration. What is said of 
men, applies with greater force to the other sex. 
A clever, agreeable woman will find the social path 
much smoother at the capital than in Xew York 
or Pliiladclpliia, and many a commonplace man 



SOCIAL LIFE IN THE CAPITAL. 293 

owes his success to the social qualities possessed hy 
his wife. 

There are something like a score of social clubs 
in Washington, of which the principal are the 
Metropolitan and the Cosmos. The former, which 
is now building a fine new home for itself, is com- 
posed mainly of high government officials, members 
of the diplomatic corps and officers of the Army 
and Navy. It has a membership of about six- 
hundred. 

The Cosmos Club is located in the old Dolly 
Madison mansion and tAVo adjoining houses. Its 
membership is drawn from men who have distin- 
guished themselves in science, literature, or art, 
and embraces a greater aggregation of intellect 
than any similar institution in the country. 



CHAPTEK XII. 

THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON. 

It may not bo improper to include Georgetown 
in a review of the snburbs of Washington for the 
old Maryland to\vn was not incorporated with the 
city until 1871, and even now is shai*ply distin- 
guished from the original capital by physical bound- 
aries and general appearance. 

Georgetown was laid out, by authority of the 
Maryland Assembly, in 1751, and soon became the 
commercial and social center of that part of the 
State, for the outlying landowners frequently re- 
sorted there for business and pleasure. It was a 
thriving port, to which vessels l)rought the luxuries 
craved by the colonists and returned laden with 
their produce, principally tobacco. During the 
Revoluti<jnary War, Georgetown was a depot for 
military supplies and the troops of both armies 
marched through its streets and encamped upon the 
neighboring heights. Before and after this time 
George Washington frequently visited the place, 
where he had relatives. 

Georgetown was included in the ^' ten miles 
294 



THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON. 295 

square " and some of its citizens would seem to 
have entertained a desire to be taken into the 
original city, for we find Washington writing to the 
Commissioners in 1791, as follows: ''It having 
been indicated to me that the proprietors of George- 
town are desirous of being comprehended within 
the limits of the Federal City, I see no objection 
to the measure, provided the landholders . . . 
agree to cede to the public on the same terms with 
those under the last, etc." The proposal fell 
through, and could hardly have had the approval 
of the old families who, for a considerable period 
thereafter, looked down upon the infant capital and 
its people. At that early period and for some years 
after the removal of the Government, the Mary- 
land town offered comforts and conveniences al- 
together superior to any obtainable at the capital 
and many members of Congi-ess and officials took 
up a temporary residence there, whilst visitors to 
Washington generally lodged at Suter's, the Foun- 
tain, or some other of the several taverns in the 
town. The passage from one place to the other 
involved a considerable journey, through a tract al- 
most devoid of habitations and over a road which 
excited the execration of many a traveler. Several 
of the foreign diplomats made their homes on the 
heights above Georgetown which, with its popula- 
tion of six thousand, completely over-shadowed 
Washington as an urban center. At the opening 



296 WASHINGTON. 

of the century, Tom Moore, Aaron Burr, Gilbert 
Stuart, Tom Paine, Baron Humboldt, Barlow and 
many other notable persons, were familiar figures 
in the drawing rooms of the quaint burgh. It 
has not changed greatly. Many of its old stone 
houses stand to-day as they did then, reminders of 
the happy colonial days. 

Washington had tliought to extend the ^' Grand 
Avenue " to Georgetown with a terminal bridge 
aljove '^ grand navigation," and so to unite with 
Washington the fortunes of the thriving rival of 
^' Baltimore Town." Thus would have been se- 
cured the nucleus of the great '' commercial em- 
porium " that he believed the capital destined to 
become. However, the construction of the Long 
Bridge and the Analostan Causeway put a quietus 
upon Georgetown's aspirations. At that time the 
port received large consigiiments of goods from 
England, consisting mainly of hardware, fabrics, 
wines, and tea. In exchange for these, it exported 
tobacco, furs, and Indian goods. The shipments 
to Great Britain in 1794, amounted in value to 
about one hundred and thirty thousand dollars, a 
very considerable export for the times. Large 
quantities of sugar, molasses and rum were also 
received from the West Indies. These imports 
Avere distributed among the farmers of Maryland, 
Virginia, and Pennsylvania, by means of river 
craft and Conestoga wagon transports, which 



THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON. 2!)7 

brought to Georgetown tlie products of the farm. 

An old resident — Mr. Thomas W. Rilev, 

writing some twenty years ago said : '^ In my boy- 
hood days there Avas a great deal of business done 
in what were known as arks by those living on the 
upper Potomac. They had no other way to bring 
their wheat, corn, oats, hay, and other products to 
market. These arks were large wooden floats, put 
together in a substantial, though inexpensive man- 
ner with wooden bolts and pins. They carried a 
great deal. These arks were floated by the cur- 
rent. On their arrival in Georgetown, after their 
contents were sold, the arks were taken to pieces 
and the lumber sold. I have seen hundreds of 
them. This was before the opening of the Chesa- 
peake and Ohio Canal. People nowadays talk 
about push and enterprise as if it was a new in- 
vention and they the only discoverers of it. 
Though I have always tried to keep up with the 
procession in a business way, I assure you I have 
seen evidences of a ^ get there' spirit among the 
grandfathers of some of the business men of to- 
day that surpassed much of their so-called push. 
These ark-owners had goods to sell, and, though 
they did not come with lightning speed, they got 
to market just the same." 

The Potomac River is not navigable above the 
Little Palls, which has a drop of thirty-seven feet. 
At the Great Falls the descent is over seventy-six 



298 WASHINGTON. 

feet. Between these points the river is in many 
places shallow and rock-streAvn, so that a boat at- 
tempting the passage could hardly escape destruc- 
tion. The Potomac Canal Company constructed, 
at heavy cost, canals and locks around these falls, 
widened and deepened the smaller channels around 
the islands which were free from rocks, and in other 
places, where practicable, dug canals across cun^es 
and around the rocky and shallow rapids. In such 
manner an uncertain and dangerous waterway was 
secured for navigation by flat-bottomed scows, 
gondolas, arks, and what not, steered and propelled 
by oars and poles. Xotwithstanding the danger 
and frequent loss of cargo, the tonnage that was 
carried in this precarious manner amounted to a 
great deal in the course of a year. 

During the year 1812, several hundred hogsheads 
of Louisiana sugar were brought by way of the 
Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Potomac rivers to 
Georgetown. This was a realization of Washing- 
ton's idea that the city wdiicli he founded would 
become an entrepot for the products of the Missis- 
sippi Valley destined for shipment abroad. He 
displayed his faith in this belief by the purchase 
of wharf-lots which would hardly bring to-day what 
he paid for them. 

Georgetown, " the original seat of the Catholic 
power in this country," is now noted chiefly for its 
University, founded by the Jesuit Fathers and con- 



THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON. 299 

tinuously maintained as a seat of the highest 
learning. 

Of Mount Vernon, the first President's home, 
Edward Everett has said : " While it stands, the 
latest generations of the grateful children of 
America will make this pilgrimage to it as to a 
shrine; and when it shall fall, if fall it must, the 
memory and the name of Washington shall shed an 
eternal glory on the spot." True it is that every 
visitor to the nation's capital rightly considers it 
a sacred duty to pay homage, at his former home, 
to. the memory of the man who made the nation 
possible. 

At the close of a speech delivered in the Senate, 
early in 1850, and having for its object the '^ peace, 
concord, and harmony of the Union, and a settle- 
ment of the questions relating to slavery," Henry 
Clay made the following statement : " A man 
came to my room — the same at whose instance, 
a few days ago, I presented a memorial calling 
upon Congress for the purchase of ]\[ount Vernon 
for the use of the public, — and without being aware 
of what purpose I entertained in the discharge of 
my public duty to-day, he said to me : ' ^Mr. Clay, 
I heard you make a remark the other day, which in- 
duces me to suppose that a precious relic in my 
possession would be acceptable to you.' He tlim 
drew from his pocket, and presented to me, the 



300 WASHINGTON. 

object which I now liold in my hand. And what, 
^Ir. President, do you suppose it is ? It is a 
fragment of the coffin of Washington — a frag- 
ment of that coffin in which now repose, in silence, 
in sleep, and speechless, all the earthly remains of 
the venerable Father of his Country. . . . 
Sir, I hope an impression may be made on your 
mind such as that which was made on mine by 
the reception of this precious relic.'' 

The estate was not purchased by Congress and 
when, in ISr),"), John A. Washington, being in 
straightened circumstances, offered it publicly for 
sale, there was grave danger of its being for ever 
lost to the country. At this juncture, a patriotic 
woman — Ann Pamela Cunningham, of South 
Carolina, — c ssayed the formidable task of raising 
the two hundred thousand dollars necessary to the 
purchase of the place. In 1858, !Miss Cunning- 
ham, who had l)een working assiduously mean- 
while, succeeded in organizing the !Mount Vernon 
Ladies' Association and attracting to the support 
of its object earnest devotees of both sexes in all 
parts of the country. ^Foney poured in from every 
quarter in sums varying from the five-cent con- 
tributions of school-children to the splendid dona- 
tion of sixty-nine thousand dollars made by Ed- 
ward Everett. Sufficient was realized before the 
close of 1850, not only to secure Alount Vernon, 
but also to provide for its permanent care and to 



THE SUBUKBS OF WASHINGTON. 301 

buy back some portions of the estate that had been 
alienated and to restore others that had suffered 
from neglect. 

The leader in this patriotic movement and her 
co-laborers have never received sufficient credit for 
their noble work. The writer has met more than 
one intelligent American at Washington who en- 
tertained the delusion that Mount Vernon was se- 
cured to the nation by the action of Congress and 
the expenditure of public moneys. 

Mount Vernon lies on the w^estem shore of the 
Potomac, in Fairfax County, Virginia, and about 
sixteen miles from Washington, with which it is 
now^ connected by a railroad. The mansion oc- 
cupies a commanding situation upon the brow of 
a hill overlooking the stream, towards which a 
broad lawn extends. The estate in Wasliington's 
time comprised eight thousand acres. Half of it, 
or more, was woodland, some of which still sur- 
rounds the house. The other portion was divided 
into five farms, worked by hundreds of negro 
slaves. Each of these units was devoted to a spe- 
cial crop, and was managed by an overseer. Large 
shipments were made from the wharf on the 
premises and the brand of " George Washington, 
Mount Vernon," was widely known. 

After the death of the first President, most of 
the land was sold by the heirs, leaving little but 
the two hundred acres of the home farm, or the 



302 WASHINGTON. 

'' mansion house farm," as it was called. The 
house, which stands in about ten acres of lawn, 
dotted with shade trees, is a wooden structure de- 
signed to resemble stone. It has two stories and 
an attic and is surmounted by a cupola. Along 
its entire length runs a piazza, paved with stones. 
The main hall extends from the front to the back of 
the dwelling and there are six rooms on the ground 
floor. 

In the neighborhood of the mansion are the old 
brick " cook-house," in which the meals for the 
family were prepared, the butler's house and the 
servants' quarters. Nearby, upon the sloping 
ground to the south, is the old family tomb, in 
which the body of Washington lay for thirty years, 
until removed with those of his Avife and other 
members of the family to a new vault. 

The first owner of the estate, which was orig- 
inally named '' Hunting Creek," was Lawrence, 
the half-brother of George Washington. He built 
the central portion of the mansion and some of the 
outbuildings and changed the name of the place to 
^' Mount Vernon " in remembrance of Admiral Ed- 
ward Vernon of the British Xavy, under whom he 
had fought against the Spaniards in the W^est In- 
dies. On the death of Lawrence Washington and 
his daughter, the estate reverted to George Washing- 
ton who took up his residence there shortly after 
his marriage and entered zealously into the piu'suit 



THE SUBURBS OU WASHINGTON. 303 

of farming. After the close of tlie war, lie added 
extensions to the honse at either end, refurnished 
all its rooms, erected new outhouses and effected 
a general improvement of the place. Here, fol- 
lowing his retirement from the presidency, he en- 
joyed the dignified and easy life of a country 
gentleman and here he died and was buried. 

Alexandria was chartered as a municipality in 
1749, and during the youth of Washington was 
the most considerable town in that part of Vir- 
ginia. His early life is closely associated with 
the place and he was a familiar figure upon the 
streets. It was at the Carlyle House, whose owner 
was his life-long friend, that he received his first 
commission as a regular officer in the British 
Army. "Early in April, 1755, General Brad- 
dock and Admiral Keppel held a conference with 
the executive representatives of various colonies 
concerning plans for the proposed hostilities of 
the English against the French and Indian allies 
along the Ohio and St. Lawrence Rivers. To 
meet this honorable council and give them the bene- 
fit of his knowledge of Indian warfare, Washing- 
ton, then a major in the Virginia militia, was 
summoned from Mount Vernon. Despite the 
marked impression made upon the council by the 
young soldier's wise and moderate opinions. Brad- 
dock declined to act upon Washington's advice as 



304 WASIIIXGTON. 

to the best method of dealing with the Indians, 
and the expedition against Fort Dnquesne, from 
which Washington did not withhold his own 
services as an aide on the commander's staff, set- 
ting forth within the ensuing week, inangnrated 
the disastrous campaign which ended shortly in 
the fierce battle of the Monongahela, when Brad- 
dock fell and was buried near the field." 

Washington frequently came to Alexandria on 
business and as often to meet friends at the City 
Hotel or the old ^larket Court, where local news 
and the political affairs of the day were discussed. 
He was a regular attendant of Christ Church and 
the pew occupied by him, as Avell as that of Robert 
E. Lee, are carefully preserved. 

A portion of the naval force that operated 
against Washington, in 1814, made an attack upon 
Alexandria which, being defenceless after the 
abandonment of Fort Washington, capitulated and 
saw the enemy capture and take away seventy, or 
more, vessels laden with valuable merchandise. 

It was during the brief stoppage of the steam- 
boat at Alexandria during President Jackson's 
journey to Frederick, that he was assaulted by 
Lieutenant R. B. Randolph. The officer entered the 
President's cabin, drawing off his glove as he ad- 
vanced. The President, altogether misinterpreting 
the action, extended his hand, saying: ^^ Never 
mind your glove, sir.'' Randolph then thrust his 



THE SUBUKBS OF WASHINGTON. 305 

open palm into the General's face, crying: ''I 
came to pull your nose, sir ! " Before tlie assail- 
ant could carry out his threat, he was seized and 
pushed out upon the deck. Thence he made his 
Avay ashore, stopped at a tavern '' to take a drink," 
and passed on beyond the District line unmolested. 
Eandolph was probably a victim of one of Jack- 
son's many high-handed proceedings. After the 
suicide of Purser Timberlake, the first husband 
of ''Peggy" O'Xeil, Eandolph had been detailed 
to take his place temporarily. He had found the ac- 
counts of the office incomplete and the funds short 
and so reported to his superiors. A court-martial 
exonerated him from all blame and inferentially 
laid the embezzlement at the door of Timberlake, 
the suicide. Jackson, however, arbitrarily re- 
versed the finding of the court and dismissed Ran- 
dolph from the service. 

Washington's somewhat strained action in ex- 
tending the lines of the district into Virginia, con- 
trary to the original intention of Congress, was at- 
tributed, amongst other supposed motives, to a de- 
sire to include within the territory Arlington, the 
property of George Washington Parke C^istis, hi> 
grandson by marriage. It was even thought that 
he at one time contemplated the location of the 
principal portion of the city and the Capitol on 
the west side of the river, a poutingency which was 
20 



306 WASHINGTON. 

elfectuallj prevented by the later prf^liibition of 
Congress. 

The Custises ranked with the Carrolls and Cal- 
verts as the three oldest and most distinguished 
families in the part of the country from which the 
District was partitioned. Major-General John 
Custis appears in colonial history as an official un- 
der a commission issued in 1687 by Lord Howard 
of Effingliam, His Majesty's Lieutenant-Governor 
of Virginia. His grandson, the Honorable John 
Custis, made alliance with another notable family 
when he married Frances, the daughter of Daniel 
Parke. From this union, which proved a most 
unhappy one, sprang two children^ Daniel and 
Fanny Parke (^istis. The former married ]\Lir- 
tha Dandridge and died at an early age, leaving 
a widow and two children, John Parke and Mar- 
tha Parke Custis. 

On a bronze tablet affixed to the right-hand wall 
of the main hall of Arlington House is the follow- 
ing inscri])ti()n, which recounts succinctly the hist- 
ory of the *' Arlington House Estate." 

The lands comprising the estate or property are a part 
of an original grant of 0,000 acres from Wiliam Berkley, 
(sic) Governor of Virginia, to Robert Howsen in October, 
16G9, in consideration of the said TTowsen having transported 
a number of settlers into the colony. In the same j'ear 
Howsen conveyed these lands to John Alexander, tlie con- 
sideration being (5 hogsheads of tobacco, and on December 
25, 1778, (Jerald Alexander, to whom the propoity had de- 



THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON. 307 

scended, conveyed the Arlington Tract, about 1,100 acres, 
to John Parke Custis, the consideration being 1,100 pounds 
in Virginia currency. 

John Parke Custis was the son. of Martha Wash- 
ington by her first marriage. He was aide-de- 
camp to Washington during the Eevolution, and 
npon his death, November 5, 1781, of camp fever, 
contracted at Yorktown, Washington adopted his 
two youngest children, George Washington Parke 
Custis and Eleanor Parke Custis. George Wash- 
ington Parke Custis, who inherited the Arlington 
estate from his father, Avas a member of Wash- 
ington's family until the death of Washington, in 
lt\)dy and soon after removed to Arlington, where 
he resided until his death, October 10, 1857. By 
his will, bearing date of March 26, 1855, he de- 
vised the " Arlington House Estate " to his daugh- 
ter and only child Mary Ann Randolph Lee, wife 
of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert E. Lee, United States 
Army, for her use and benefit during her natural 
life, and on her death to his eldest grandson, 
George Washington Custis Lee, to him and his 
heirs forever. 

By an executive order by the President of the 
United States dated January 6, 1861, the entire 
tract of eleven hundred acres, more or less, was 
" selected for government use for war, military, 
charitable, and educational purposes," under the 
provision of the Acts of Congress of July 7, 1862, 



308 WASHINGTON. 

and February G, 1863. By the same order it was 
directed that the property should be sold to meet 
the payment of $92.07 direct taxes due thereon. 
This was done January 11, 1864, and the property 
was bid in for the United States for the sum of 
$26,800. Mrs. Lee having died in 1873, legal 
proceedings contesting the legality of the tax sales 
were instituted by George Washington Custis Lee, 
an heir under the will of his grandfather, George 
Washington Parke Custis. The case was heard in 
the- United States Circuit Court for the Eastern 
District of Virginia, and verdict rendered in his 
favor, which, upon appeal, was affirmed upon the 
decision of the Supreme Court of the L'nited States, 
December 4, 1882. 

Congress, by Act of March 3, 1883, appro- 
l)riated the sum of $150,000 for the purchase of 
this property, and on March 31, 1883, George 
Washington Custis Lee conveyed to the United 
States by deed the title to the property in question 
for the sum appropriated. 

By an order of the Secretary of War dated June 
15, 1864, the Arlington Mansion and the grounds 
surrounding it, not exceeding two hundred acres, 
were appropriated for a military cemetery. . . . 
The boundaries of this original plot have been ex- 
tended l)y orders of the Secretary of War to the 
southern boundary of the estate, the actual area 



THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON. 309 

now inclosed and constituting the N'ational Ceme- 
tery is four hundred and one-third acres. 

The estate was named '* Arlington " by John 
Parke Custis, the adopted son of Washington. 
During his tenancy he improved it out of all 
recognition of the condition in which he found 
it. It had then consisted mainly of forest, with 
a few hundred acres of imperfectly cleared land, 
lying below the hills. The mansion-house was a 
small and unpretentious dwelling erected by the 
Alexanders upon the bank of what was then called 
Little River, at a distance of about a mile to the 
east of the present structure. The erection of 
Arlington House was begun in 1804, but not com- 
pleted until eight years later. Writers have fre- 
quently stated that it is modeled after the Temple 
of Theseus at Athens, but the tablet on the house 
states that it is patterned on the ^' Temple of 
Paestum near Naples." It was considered the 
finest example of the residence of a landed gentle- 
man in the State of Virginia, if not in the whole 
country. The main buildings have been preseiwed 
in a condition nearly that of their original ap- 
pearance. 

It has here that John Parke Custis played a 
leading part in the social life of the neigliborhood 
and entertained with lavish hospitality. '' The old 
Revolutionary heroes were welcome guests at his 



310 WASHIXGTON. 

board, whilst tlie distingiiishod men of a snccood- 
ing generation delighted in visiting the hospitable 
farmer." He was keenly interested in agriculture 
and stock raising and sought to promote those in- 
terests in various ways. He held '' an annual 
fete," at his own expense and invited the neigh- 
boring farmers to take part in it by exhibiting 
^' their sheep, cattle, and best products of the loom, 
and to dine with him under a range of tents, one 
of which belonged to the illustrious Washington," 
who was always highly extolled in the speeches that 
formed the closing feature of these occasions. 
There was a liberal distribution of liquid refresh- 
ments and '' prizes were awarded by Mr. Custis 
to those bringing, for purposes of exhibition, the 
finest specimens of sheep," in the improvement of 
Avliich he took special interest. 

There is no more beautiful spot near Washing- 
ton than Arlington. Lafayette pronounced the 
prospect from the porch of the house to be the 
most magnificent he had ever beheld. To-day the 
panorama stretched before the observer from the 
same point is even more delightful and imposing. 
The Potomac flows below at a distance of two hun- 
dred feet and on its farther side lie Washington 
and Georgetown backed by the encircling hills. 
Viewed on a clear day, the picture is one that 
can hardly be surpassed for stately loveliness by 
anv in tlie world. 



THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON. 311 

On the level plateau that lies towards Fort 
Meyer, is laid out the city of the dead. A suburb 
occupies a space below the hill near the Ord and 
Weitzel gate and yet another the slope east of 
the mansion. Many thousands of soldiers — six- 
teen thousand that fell in the Civil War alone — 
lie buried here, reminders of our successive sacri- 
fices in the cause of freedom from the Revolution- 
ary War to that with Spain. Acres of ground are 
covered with the small square head-stones, running 
in orderly ranks, a few words on each sufficing for 
the name of the tenant and the State to which he 
belonged. A more imposing monument of endur- 
ing granite stands to the memory of the unknown 
dead, upon its face these words: 

BENEATH THIS STONE 

REPOSE THE BONES OF TWO THOUSAND ONE 

HUNDRED AND ELEVEN UNKNOWN SOLDIERS 

GATHERED AFTER THE WAR 

FROM THE FIELDS OF BULL RUN AND THE ROUTE 

TO THE RAPPAHANNNOCK 
THEIR REMAINS COULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED BUT 

THEIR NAMES AND DEATHS ARE 

RECORDED IN THE ARCHIVES OF THEIR COUNTRY 

AND ITS GRATEFUL CITIZENS 

HONOR THEM AS OF THEIR NOBLE ARMY OF 

MARTYRS. MAY THEY REST IN PEACE. 

' SEPTEMBER, A. D. 186G. 

When the Government came to Washiagton, 
Bladensburg was a thriving port, shipjiing more 
tobacco than any other town in ^laryland with 



312 WASHINGTON. 

the possible exception of Georgetown. Vessels 
from distant points came up the Anacostia to its 
wharves and, lying, as it did, on a main road, 
travelers frequently stopped at its taverns. A 
short distance from the town stood Mount Airy, 
the home of the Calverts, in an extensive and 
rich plantation. Here George Calvert, descendant 
of the Lords of Baltimore, lived in princely style 
and dispensed a liberal hospitality. 

Those were the halcyon days, but with the in- 
troduction of the railroad Bladensburg waned, its 
river was neglected, and it failed to find substitutes 
for its old-time industries, so that it has been long 
since no more than a village in decay. Now it is 
a favorite drive from Washington and visitors go 
out occasionlly to see the old battle-field and the 
duelling ground. " At this day Bladensburg is in 
essentials the same village it was when Decatur 
and Barron fought here on a morning in March, 
1820 — a roadside village of three or four hun- 
dred people at a crossing of the East Branch of 
the Potomac, five miles from the Capitol at W^ash- 
ington. Its principal street stretches along a flat 
floor of sand, thirsty, like its citizens, and is, at 
both .ends, stopped by a ford and bridge; for the 
branch makes a turn round the bottom of the vil- 
lage ^nd shoots off a creek round the top of it. 
The main turnpike street, therefore, on which our 
old duelists' tavern stands, midway between the 



THE SUBUKBS OF WASHINGTON. 313 

fords — is a good deal like a village built upon 
a sand bar or river beach. The back yards of those 
houses which keep the same side with the tavern 
go flatly back to the river. The yards of houses 
across the street scramble up at a small degree. Be- 
hind these latter houses is another broken street, 
parallel to the first, and both of them at the bot- 
tom, of the town lead into a street at right angles, 
which passes the branch by a bridge one way, and 
the other way leads back through the hills into the 
Chesapeake Necks of Maryland. It was by this 
last road that the British came from their shij) at 
Benedict to bum Washington. There are hills on 
that side of the town, and behind them the IJritish 
foniied. Then, charging across the old bridge, or 
slipping lip nnder cover of those old houses, they 
passed the branch, formed on the Washington side 
of the river, and that night moved into Washing- 
ton. The back lanes of this town, and the houses 
which lie up the green hill-terraces, show large and 
comfortable yet. The flat main street smells of 
the ague, feels of the rheumatism, and looks of 
staiwation. Its grave, hip-roofed, blackened old 
houses, look in the twilight like rows of wrecked 
hulks along a bar when the tide has gone out. 
In the baking sunshine of the day they look like 
tawny elephants, waiting in two lines to carry up 
the vast delay of cargoes which nevermore shall 
come to Bladensburg piers. Mighty <»utside chini- 



314 WASHINGTON. 

nejs hold themselves and their old houses up. 
The porches hang limp, like the dislocated chins 
of dead men. There are no sidewalks. Xo wagon 
moves oftener than once an hour through those old 
waiting rows of mansions. There is a shop or 
two, but the merchant lolls in tlie door and looks 
where the river used to be f(U' tlie unreturning 
ships." 

Of the many '^ affairs of honor " that have been 
settled at Bladensburg, the most notable is the De- 
catur-Barron duel and after it, perhaps, the cold- 
blooded murder in which Graves and Cilley were 
the principals. Several of the famous duels of 
the times which took place elsewhere have been 
mistakenly connected witli tliis place. 

Duels were of frequent occurrence at the time 
that Jonathan Cilley, of Elaine, and William 
Graves, of Kentucky, had their fatal meeting. Tn 
February, 1838, the former charged in the House 
of Eepresentatives that James Watson Webb, the 
editor of the Xew York Courier and Enquirer, had 
received a bribe from the I^ank of the T'nited 
States. Representative Graves took upon liimself 
to champion the cause of the journalist and with 
the aid of Henry A. Wise, forced Cilley into a 
duel. 

Graves and Cilley met on the duelling ground 
of Bladensburg and faced eacli other witli ritles. 
At tlie first fire both missed. The challenge was 



THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON. 315 

then suspended for the purpose of explanation, 
when Cilley repeated what he had before declared, 
that he had none but feelings of respect for Mr. 
Graves and no quarrel with him. This statement 
did not satisfy Graves and Wise who were bent 
on killing their man. Accordingly the opponents 
resumed their positions. 

A second time shots were exchanged without ef- 
fect and again General Jones, Cillcy's second, at- 
tempted to bring about a reconciliation. The otlicr 
side, however, was implacable and for a third time 
the men faced each other, the one reluctantly, tlic 
other with deadly determination. Before the 
word to fire w^as given Wise said to General 
Jones: ^^ If this matter is not terminated l)y this 
shot, and is not settled, I will propose to shorten 
the distance," to Avhich the latter replied: " After 
this shot, if without effect, I will entertain the 
proposition." 

At the word, the rifles rang out simultaneously 
and Cilley fell. Graves expressed a desire to see 
him, to which General Jones replied : '' ^ly 
friend is dead." Graves and Wise then went to 
their carriage and left the ground. 

The two seconds in this affair, one of whom was 
only slightly less culpable than the other, made a 
statement in which they said : " We cordially 
agree in bearing unqualified testimony to the fair 
and honorable manner in which the duel was con- 



316 WASHINGTON. 

ducted. None can regret its termination more 
than ourselves, and we hope that the last of it 
will be the signatures of our names to this paper, 
which we now affix.'' 

The disgust excited by the account of this affair 
is not without the relief of humor, excited by the 
naive statement that '^ none can regret its termina- 
tion more than ourselves." They did, indeed, 
strive to make a ^' continuous performance " of the 
affair. 

Stephen Decatur belonged to a family in which 
duelling was apparently held to be something of 
a pastime. His father had counseled him to fight 
a duel before he became of age and in the course 
of his life he was either principal, second or in- 
stigator in innumerable affairs of the kind. It 
was but stern justice that he should at last fall 
at the hands of a man whom he had forced into a 
quarrel with himself. 

Barron was a brave but unfortunate officer whose 
lot had been disgrace and exile. When he re- 
turned to his native land seeking employment in 
the service to which he had devoted his best years, 
Decatur, who was firmly planted on the top of the 
ladder and might easily have afforded to be gen- 
erous towards his old enemy, opposed the applica- 
tion and induced his fellow Commissioners to take 
a similar stand. Not satisfied with thus balking 
Barron's desire, Decatur renewed his old-time per- 



THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON. 317 

secution of liiui, spoke insultingly of liini in ])ul)- 
lic, and voiced gTOimdless slanders reflecting upon 
his personal character. Barron, mined in reputa- 
tion, lacking a livelihood, broken in spirit, an<l 
declining years, had no stomach for a (piarrel. He 
wrote to his tormentor with touching appeal: "I 
had concluded that your rancor towards me was 
fully satisfied by the cruel and immcrited sentence 
of the Court of which you were a member. After 
an exile of seven years from my country, family, 
and friends, I hoped that you would suffer my 
lacerated feelings to remain in quiet possession 
of these enjoyments — " to which Decatur returned 
brutal and jocose reply. There was nothing left 
to Barron but to challenge his persecutor as, in 
fact, the latter had virtually invited him more 
than once to do. 

They faced each other at Bladensburg, the one 
gray, bent, weary and short of sight ; the other in 
the prime of life, haughty and contemptuous. At 
the word the pistols were discharged as wdth a sin- 
gle report. Barron fell to the ground with a 
groan. Decatur was seen to straighten himself and 
press his hand to his side. So he stood for a few 
seconds and then dropped senseless. lie was car- 
ried a short distance to higher ground and pres- 
ently came to his senses, saying : " I am mortally 
wounded. I would I had died in the service of 
my country." Barron then said: "Everything 



318 WASHINGTON. 

lias been conducted in the most honorable manner. 
I am mortally wounded. Commodore Decatur, I 
forgive you from the bottom of my heart." 

Three days later, Decatur died, mourned by the 
whole nation, and Barron recovered to be execrated 
as his slayer. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE PRESIDENTS AND THE WHITE HOUSE. 

The White House — as it is now almost uni- 
versally called — is, at once, the residence and 
the office of the Chief Executive and Head of the 
Eepublic. The Constitution provides that the 
executive power shall be vested in a President of 
the United States of America. ... He " shall 
be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navv of 
the United States and of the Militia of the several 
States when called into the service of the United 
States. ... He shall have power to grant re- 
prieves and pardons for oifenses against the United 
States, except in cases of impeachment. He shall 
have power, by and Avith the advice and consent 
of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds 
of the Senators present concur; and he shall 
nominate, and by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate shall appoint ambassadors, other pub- 
lic ministers, and consuls, judges of the Supreme 
Court, and all other officers of the United States, 
whose appointments are not herein otherwise pro- 
vided for, and which sliall be established by hiw. 
319 



320 WASHINGTON. 

He shall have power to fill all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the Senate, by grant- 
ing commissions which shall expire at the end of 
the next session." He shall ^' from time to time 
give Congress information of the state of the 
Union, and recommend to their consideration sncli 
measures as he shall judge necessary and ex- 
pedient." He is empowered " to convene both 
Houses, or either of them, and in case they can- 
not agree with respect to the time of adjourn- 
ment, to adjourn them to such time as he may 
think proper; to receive ambassadors, and other 
public ministers; to take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed ; to commission all the officers 
of the United States." 

The article of the Constitution specifically de- 
fining the powers and duties of tlie President does 
not refer to his right of veto, that matter having 
been covered in the preceding article pertaining to 
the legislative branch of the government. This 
latter portion of the instrument provides that every 
bill shall pass the House of Representatives and 
the Senate must, before it may become law, be 
presented to the President for his approval. His 
signature confirms it but he may return it to the 
House in wliicli it originated with a statement of 
his objections to signing it. The bill must then 
be reconsidered and resubmitted to the vote of the 
members. If two-thirds of these are in favor of 



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PRESIDENTS AND THE WHITE HOUSE. 321 

its passage, it iiiiist be sent to the other House, aud 
in case of a similar proportion of that body sup- 
ports it, it shall become law over the veto of the 
President. It very seldom happens, however, that 
Congress overrides such exi:)licit objection of the 
President. 

The " Executive Mansion " was the hrst name 
— though it was styled '' The President's House " 
on early maps — and still is the official style 
of the building, the corner stone of which was laid 
on the thirteenth day of October, 1792. It was 
designed by Hoban who superintended its construc- 
tion and, under Latrobe, its renovation after 1814. 
A fanciful statement has been made that the build- 
ing was named the " white house " at the time of 
its foundation after the home of Martha Washing- 
ton. There does not, however, appear to be any 
record of the use of that name until after 1814, 
wdien it was painted white to cover the marks of 
injuries inflicted by the British and also, prob- 
ably, as a preservative measure, for it is of ex- 
ceedingly soft sandstone. This coating is renewed 
every summer at no little expense. 

When the business of the President could con- 
veniently be transacted with the aid of a single 
secretary — and generally an amateur at tliat — 
the building was more than ample for all pur- 
poses, but its occupants in the past quarter of a 
century have been much crowded. The suggestion 
2\ 



322 WASHINGTON. 

of a separate residence for the President and the 
devotion of the Executive Mansion exclusively to 
business, has been raised from time to time and, 
no doubt, will ultimately be acted upon, but the 
addition of wings in recent years has deferred the 
necessity of a change. 

Through the main door, within a large portico, 
one enters a spacious vestibule. On the left, 
reached by a passage, is the historic East Room, 
which is used for public receptions and state oc- 
casions. It is a lofty apartment, eighty feet in 
length and half as wide. The oval Blue Room is 
the President's reception chamber. Another parlor 
— the Green Room — and the State Dining Room, 
are on the ground floor. The upper floor con- 
tains the private apartments of the household. 
The offices of the President and his staff, as well 
as the Cabinet chamber, are noAv in the west wing. 

Washington selected the site of the '' President's 
house," as he termed it, and is said to have gone 
through the building, accompanied by his wife, 
shortly before his death. When President Adams 
took possession, in November, 1800, the place was 
described by the Commissioners as ^^ ready for oc- 
cupancy," but Mrs. Adams found it very much less 
comfortable than the home she had \cit in Quincy. 
As a matter of fact, its interior was far from com- 
plete and several occupants came and went before 
its barrack-like proportions became subdued by the 



PRESIDENTS AND THE WHITE HOUSE. 323 

introduction of conveniences, cnibellishments and 
comforts. The lower apartments have in the course 
of time and by gradual additions, become galleries 
and museums of historic objects. .Many of the orna- 
ments are gifts from foreign potentates and ii<. table 
Americans, and almost every President has left 
some articles of furniture or of decoration as a 
memento of his occupancy. 

During Mrs. Adams' brief residence, the social 
rules established by the wife of the first President 
were observed and only persons of station or es- 
tablished reputation were received at the White 
House. On the occasion of a reception. President 
Adams, bewigged, and clothed in black velvet suit 
with knee-breeches, walked round the circle of the 
guests, saying a few words to each, after which 
they came up singly, made a formal bow and re- 
tired. The desire, which Washington had enter- 
tained, was to surround the Executive with some- 
thing of the formal observances and stiff etiquette 
of European courts. The next incuml)ent of the 
office introduced a great change. 

Jefferson's occupancy of the White House was 
marked by the most extensive hospitality, but also 
by a neglect of t}ie proprieties that well-nigh in- 
volved the country in difficidties with some of the 
powers represented at the capital. He set up so- 
cial rules — or rather elastic amendments of those 
generally recognized — based on the assertion that 



324 WASHINGTON. 

" when brought together in society all are per- 
fectly equal, whether foreign or domestic, titled 
or untitled, in or out of office," and insisted that 
the nienilx'rs of his Cabinet should observe this 
principle. 

The White House was practically a bachelor es- 
tablishment during Jefferson's term. Women were 
seldom seen within its walls as quests. His lone; 
dining room was crowded daily with men, Avho sat 
down to dinner at four o'clock and rose at mid- 
night. On Xew Year's Day and the Fourth of 
July, the doors were thrown open to all and re- 
freshments were liberally dispensed. The Presi- 
dent was, in fact, somewhat prodigal in his en- 
tertainment and, thereby, ran heavily into debt as 
he admits in more than one of his letters. Mrs. 
Eandolph, his eldest daughter, headed the house- 
hold during two seasons, but found the task dis- 
tasteful. In her absence, Mrs. Madison the wife 
of the Secretary of State, acted as hostess on state 
occasions, which were far from numerous. 

The President carried democratic manners to 
the point of studied negligence in dress, with the 
result of giving offense to several members of the 
diplomatic coi7)s. When Merry, the newly-ar- 
rived Ih'itish minister went by appointment, in the 
regulation costume, to present himself to tlie Presi- 
dent, he was, as he recounts, " introduced to a man 
as the President of the United States not merelv 



PEESIDENTS AND THE WHITE HOUSE. 325 

in an nndress, but actually standing in slippors 
down at the heels, and pantaloons, coat, and nn- 
derclothes indicative of utter slovenliness and in- 
diiference to appearance, but in a state of negli- 
gence actually studied." Xaturally enough, the 
minister carried away a conviction that a pre- 
meditated insult had been offered to the sovereign 
whom he represented. 

Madison was an undersized, insignificant looking 
man, past his prime, when he entered the White 
House but he brought with him a wife who was 
the most successful society leader Washington has 
ever known. '^ Dolly " Madison's sway and her 
popularity lasted to the end of her long life. 
After she left the Executive Mansion, her residence 
— in what is now the main building of the Cos- 
mos Club — became a point of attraction for the 
most distinguished personages in the capital. 

Mrs. Madison, despite her antecedents, — she 
was the daughter of Quaker parents and the widow 
of one of the sect — was richly endowed with the 
qualities that tend to mako a woman shine in so- 
ciety. She was beautiful and of a qneenly car- 
riage. She combined dignity with cordiality, 
vivacity with tact, and frankness with a regard for 
the amenities. In short she was la gmnde dame 
in manners, in dress and in character. 

Mrs. Madison reestablished many of the formal- 
ities that had prevailed at the White House during 



326 WASHINGTON. 

the time of Mrs. Adams but the etiquette resumed 
was entirely devoid of austerity. Besides the fre- 
quent receptions of the President, dinner parties 
and levees were of weekly occurrence. The hostess 
proper was assisted in her extensive social duties 
by her two sisters. 

Washington Irving attended a drawing room at 
the W^hite House, in January, 1811, where he 
" found a crowded collection of great and little 
men, of ugly old women and beautiful young ones, 
and in ten minutes was hand and glove with half 
of the old people in the assemblage." Mrs. Madi- 
son, he says, '' is a fine buxom portly dame, who 
has a smile for everybody. Her sisters, Mrs. Cutts 
and Mrs. W^ashington, are like the two Merry 
Waives of Windsor; but as to Jemmy Madison — 
ah ! poor Jemmy ! — he is but a withered little 
apple-John." 

Edward Coles, who had been private secretary to 
Jefferson, filled that position with his successor, 
until 1816, when his place was taken by Payne 
Todd, the gifted but wayward son of Mrs. Madison. 
This young man, who survived his mother by lit- 
tle more than a year, was at once a trial and a 
solace to her. Through his career of wild dissipa- 
tion the deep love existing between the two burned 
with unimpaired brightness. " Poor Payne ! " the 
doting parent was wont to say, '' Poor Payne ! 
W^ith all his wilduess, he has a heart of pure gold." 



PRESIDENTS AND THE WHITE HOUSE. 327 

The next master of the White House was ''a 
tall, spare, gray-haired man, with a grave, mild 
face, dignified and courteous in bearing, and 
dressed always with fastidious care in a dark- 
blue coat, buff vest, small clothes, top-boots, and 
a cocked hat of Kevolutionary style." Mrs. Mon- 
roe had been a social leader in New York but at 
the time of her advent to the White House, w^as 
broken in health and unequal to extensive social 
duties. She did, however, institute a weekly draw- 
ing room, which w^as open to all comers, if we 
may believe the following account of the In- 
telligencer : 

'' The secretaries, senators, foreign ministers, 
consuls, auditors, accountants, officers of the army 
and navy of every grade, farmers, merchants, par- 
sons, priests, lawyers, judges, auctioneers, and 
nothingarians, with their wives, and some with 
their gawky offspring, crowd to the President's 
House every Wednesday evening; some in shoes, 
most in boots ; and many in spurs ; some snuffing 
others chewing, and many longing for their cigars 
and whiskey punches left at home. Some wdth 
powdered heads, others frizzled and oiled, and some 
whose heads a comb had never touched, half hid by 
dirty collars reaching far above their ears as stiff 
as pasteboard." 

This is probably an exaggerated picture, per- 
haps prompted by the fact that questions of pre- 



328 WASHINGTON. 

cedence and social propriety stirred the capital at 
this time and excited varying sentiments. Mrs. 
Monroe and her daughters were familiar with the 
usages of the best European society and not un- 
mindful of the advantage of a certain degree of 
conventionality. It was with their encouragement, 
if not at their instigation, that John Quincy 
Adams, then Secretary of State, drew up a code 
of social observance which is the foundation of the 
present official etiquette at the capital. 

Monroe's private secretary was his nephew, 
Samuel Gouverneur, of New York. In 1820, the 
latter married his cousin, Maria Monroe, in the 
East Room, which was gorgeous with lately ar- 
rived furniture from Paris. This was the first 
marriage ceremony performed at the White House. 
It Avas a quiet affair, restricted to the immediate 
relatives of the contracting parties. 

The closing months of Monroe's administration 
witnessed a notable event in the history of the 
White House. The venerable Lafayette, in the 
United States as the guest of the nation, after an 
extensive tour of the country, took up his residence 
at the Executive Mansion for several months. The 
occasion of liis departure was made a general holi- 
day in Washington. A numerous company as- 
sembled at the White House to take leave of the 
distinciiished o-ucst and the President — bv this 



PRESIDENTS AND THE WHITE HOUSE. 329 

time, Adams the younger, — iiuule a speecli tliat 
moved his audience to tears. 

John Quincy Adams was in the full strength of 
his mental and physical vigor when he became the 
head of the nation. He liad an extraordinary 
personality made up of a mixture of admiral »h' 
and unamiable qualities. No more patriotic and 
honorable man ever lived, but he was suspicious, 
censorious and unsympathetic. To unattractive 
physical characteristics^ he added an austerity and 
lack of sociability that repelled most persons who 
came in contact with him. Ilis habits were ex- 
tremely simple and democratic, and yet so little 
understood by the public that the fact of his having 
bought some silver plate and a billiard table for 
the White House, with money voted by Congress, 
aroused popular indignation and rumors that the 
President was assuming a regal style of living. 

President Adams habitually rose at sunrise in 
the summer and not later than six o'clock at any 
season. He then took a ride or walked down to 
the river, or the ^' tobacco box," as the pool near 
the present Monument was called, and indidged 
in his favorite pastime of swimming. Eeturning 
home he read the Bible in conjunction with a 
commentary, then went through the morning pa- 
pers, and afterwards applied liimself to official 
business until breakfast which was regularly 



330 WASHINGTON. 

served at nine. From ten till four he remained in 
his office, devoting his attention strictly to affairs 
of state. The interval between four and the din- 
ner at half-past five was spent in walking or rid- 
ing. He rose from the principal meal of the day 
to return to his official papers and the considera- 
tion of ])ul)lic affairs, commonly remaining se- 
cluded in his office until far into the night. His 
son John, who acted as his private secretary and 
inherited many of his most striking characteris- 
tics, was almost an equally hard worker. 

]f the President largely ignored the demands of 
society, his wife was in no respect remiss in her 
social duties. Mrs. Adams was a woman of breed- 
ing, culture and good education. Accustomed 
from her childhood to the society of persons of 
refinement, she gracfd the position of mistress of 
the White House as few others have done. The 
evening levees of her two immediate predecessors 
were maintained with marked success. State din- 
ners were frequently given, to which members of 
Congress, irrespective of party, Avere invited, and 
in other ways Mrs. Adams contrived to make the 
White House a center of pleasant society during 
her husband's term of office, without relaxing the 
digiiity and etiquette which she believed should 
prevail at the residence of the Chief Executive of 
a nation ihat was gaining recognition as a great 
power. 



'PKESIDENTS AND THE WHITE IIOITSE. 331 

Andrew Jackson's entrance to tlic While House 
marked a return to the Jefforsonian order of 
things. '' Everybody, includinii the servants 
flocked to the levees and the Cahinct receptions, 
and the story is told of a certain cartnian who 
left his vehicle in the street and entered th(^ White 
House in frock and overalls to shake hands with 
the President. An incident of this sort might 
have easily occniTed, for Jackson was as demo- 
cratic in his tastes and hal)its as in his ])rinciples." 
lie once had a huge cheese that had been sent to 
him by one of his admirers, cut and distributed 
among the mixed crowd at a White House recep- 
tion, with the result of ruining the carpet and up- 
holstery of the room. 

Jackson's wife died between the dates of his 
election and inauguration. The duties of mistress 
of the White House were performed by Mrs. Don- 
elson, except for a short period when disagreement 
wdth her husband's adoptive-father in the T^aton 
matter led to her leaving the house. 

What was spoken of at the time as '' the Eaton 
affair," involved serious political consecpu'nces be- 
sides creating a social convulsion. Peggy O'Neil, 
the daughter of a local iim-keeper, married, when 
hardly more than sixteen years of age, a young 
purser in the navy, named Timberlake. Tn 1S2S, 
the husband committed suicide, out of which deed 
and the cause that promi)ted it, grew the famous 



332 WASHINGTON. 

" nose-pulling incident/' referred to elsewhere. 
After her husband's death, the beautiful Peggy be- 
came the wife of John H. Eaton, Secretary of 
War, with whom her name had previously been 
unfavorably coupled. Under the circumstances 
the wives of the other Cabinet officers refused to 
receive Mrs. Eaton and their husband's restricted 
their intercourse with him to official business. 
Jackson zealously espoused the cause of Mrs. 
Eaton and made her a frequent and honored guest 
at the Executive ^lansion. The three married 
members of the Cabinet were forced to resign. 
Van Buren and Barry, who were widowers, sided 
with the President in the quarrel and, with the 
ministers of Great Britain and Kussia, entertained 
'' the princess of discords at suppers, dinners, and 
balls. Her audacity on these ocassions was as bril- 
liant as her beauty was bewildering. Staid ma- 
trons of the Cabinet and Congressional set called 
untimely for their carriages, clergymen denounced 
her publicly, and Peggy, dancing for joy, ran daily 
to Jackson with fresh stories of delightful insult." 

After the death of Eaton, this woman, at the age 
of sixty-three, married an Italian music master, 
who was hardly more than a boy. He presently 
eloped with her money and her granddaughter. 

Mrs. Eaton — as she called herself after divorc- 
ing the rascally foreigner — died in 1870, at the 
age of eighty-three. It is said tliat lier last words 



PRESIDENTS AND THE WIHTE HOUSE, 333 

were: ''I am not afraid to go — hnt this is such 
a beautiful world." 

During Jackson's second term, Harriet ^Nfar- 
tineau paid a visit to Washington and dined with 
the President. A few days later she witnessed the 
attempt of the crazy sign-painter, ].awrence, to as- 
sassinate him. " The attack, '^ wrote the famous 
authoress, ^^ threw Mr. Jackson into a tremendous 
passion. He fears nothing, hut his temper is not 
equal to his courage. Instead of putting the event 
calmly aside and proceeding with the business of 
the hour, it was found necessary to put him in his 
carriage and send him home." 

The White House, when ^liss Alartineau was a 
guest there, " had lately been refurnished at a cost 
of several thousand dollars. Particular attention 
had been s^iven to the East Room, which was now 
adorned with four mantelpieces of black Itaiiaa 
marble, each one surmounted by a large mirror in 
a heavy gilded ornamental frame, while a rich Brus- 
sels carpet covered the floor, and three large cut- 
glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling." (These 
were recently removed to the Capitol.) '' There 
was also a profusion of gilded chairs and sofas up- 
holstered with blue damask ; heavy curtains of blue 
and yellow moreen shaded the windows, and French 
china vases, filled with artificial flowers, a<lorned tln^ 
mantelpieces and the three marble-topped center- 
tables." 



334 WASHINGTON, 

All this finery made but slight appeal to Jackson, 
Avho was never so happy as when conversing with 
his cronies in the office upon the upper floor, where 
he would ensconce himself in an arm-chair, with 
his feet on the table and a corn-cob pipe in his 
mouth. His favorite amusement was horse-racing 
and he more than once had animals of his own breed- 
ing brought up from the Hermitage and entered 
by Donelson in races at the Xational Course just 
north of the city. The President wagered freely on 
these events but never risked greater sums than he 
could afford to lose without embarrassment. 

Yan Buren came to the White House a widower 
and for a while the establishment lacked a mistress. 
However, in Xovember, 1837, the President's son 
Abraham, was married to Angelica Singleton of 
South Carolina, and thenceforth that lady presided 
over the functions at the Executive Mansion. John, 
a younger son of the President, Avho became famous 
as a lawyer, was also a resident of the White House 
during his father's administration. 

" Van Buren had not been long in the White 
House before he had it refurnished in expensive 
fashion, while at the same time he restored the social 
usages which had been followed by Washington, 
Madison, and other of the earlier Presidents. He 
made the Executive Mansion pleasant and attractive 
to all — this without compromising the dignity of 
his high office — and genial and social, even with 



PRESIDENTS AND TTTK WIIITK ITOrSE. /]35 

his most (loeidcd opponents, he soon ;ittract('(l crowds 
to his levees and rocoptions. Thns the White House 
hist the cold and depressing air it had worn during 
the closing days of the Jackson Administration, 
when increasing age and infii-niity made its (Xmmi- 
pants austere, arrogant, and impatient, too often, 
of contradiction." 

In the autumn of 1837, Mrs. ^Fadison returned 
to Washington, welcomed bv all, and took u]) her 
residence in the house at the corner of ^ladison 
Place and H Street, that had formed part of lier 
husband's estate. There she lived, the undisputed 
leader of Washington society, until lier (h-ath 
twelve years later. 

Harrison, the hero of Ti])pecanoe, old, feel)le, 
and broken in health, worn by tli(^ \wnvy and un- 
accustomed strain of office, fell easy victim to a 
cold and died a few weeks after entering the White 
House. This, the first death in office of a Chief 
Executive, was followed by a stately funeral serv- 
ice in the East Room and a procession to the Con- 
gressional Cemetery. A few years later, the re- 
mains were removed, in compliance with the re- 
quest of the family, to North Bend, Indiana. 

John Tyler was the first of ''our accidental 
Presidents." During his residence at the White 
House the ceremonious etiquette restored by Van 
Buren, was once more banished. The new Presi- 
dent brought his family slaves up to Washington 



336 WASHINGTON. 

and condnctod his household after the manner of 
the old school of Virginia planters. There was the 
most extensive hospitality, hut little ceremony. 
The wife of the President died towards the second 
year of her husband's term and during the two 
ensuing years Mrs. Robert Tyler, a daughter of 
the actor Cooper, played the part of mistress of 
the mansion with tactful success. Shortly before 
his retirement from office, the President married 
the young and beautiful Miss Julia Gardiner, of 
New York. The last days of their tenancy of the 
White House were marked by a ball given in 
honor of the incoming President, who was, how- 
ever, prevented from attending owing to !Mrs. 
Polk's illness. 

Polk was a plain man of ordinary appearance, 
in his fiftieth year, when he came to the White 
House. His wife was a woman of striking beauty, 
somewhat rustic and Puritanical, but a tactful and 
pleasing hostess withal. She would not allow 
dancing under her roof and it is not beyond sus- 
])icion that she may have feigned illness in order 
to avoid attendance at the parting function of tlie 
Tylers. 

During his term, the straight figure of the hard- 
featured Taylor, clad in an ill-fitting coat, be- 
came familiar to the people of Washington, for it 
was the habit of the President to spend several 
hours of each dav walkiiiii" about the citv, and he 



PRESIDENTS AND THE WHITE HOUSE. 3:37 

was constantly seen on Penusylvania Aveiuio 
which by this time had become a frequented 
promenade. Mrs. Taylor was something of an in- 
valid and, moreover, less accustomed to the atmos- 
phere of a drawing-room than to that of a camp, 
having married the General in his youth and hav- 
ing followed his fortunes in the field. She was, 
therefore, glad to delegate her social duties to her 
daughter Elizabeth, who had married Colonel Wil- 
liam Bliss, one of General Taylor's staff in the 
Mexican War. '' Pretty Betty Bliss," as she was 
called with the freedom of the times, was an ideal 
hostess and made the White House functions very 
popular. 

On the Fourth of July, 1850, when he had been 
little more than one year in office, President Zach- 
ary Taylor was suddenly stricken with illness and 
five days later he passed away, with the dying 
words : " I have tried to do my duty." For three 
days his body lay in state in the East Eoom of the 
White House and was then interred in the Con- 
gressional Cemetery. Some time after, the re- 
mains were removed to the suburb of St. ^Matthew's 
near Louisville. 

Although Washington society at this time was 
particularly lively, and almost brilliant, the social 
life of the White House continued to be character- 
ized by the common-place that had distino-uished it 
for several terms. Mrs. Fillmore, though gracious 
22 



338 WASHINGTON. 

and anxious to please, was studious and straight- 
laced. She found the duties of an official hostess 
onerous and distasteful but applied herself to them 
so conscientiously as to hasten — so it has been 
said — her death which occurred shortly after she 
left the White House. Iler successor found the 
burden no less heavy, though from different causes. 

Retiring by temperament, an invalid for years, 
and mourning for a beloved child at the time of 
her husband's elevation to the head of the nation, 
Mrs. Pierce was utterly incapacitated for the per- 
formance of the duties of hostess and the Presi- 
dent himself dispensed the hospitality of their 
home with tact and urbanity. It was an arduous 
and unhappy situation for both, and it was with- 
out regret that they left the Executive ^lansion to 
return to their modest New England home. 
Pierce, who had entered upon office the most popu- 
lar man in the country, created a host of enemies 
by his indecisive attitude toward the limitless 
horde of office seekers. 

The handsome and stately Buchanan was the 
first bachelor President. His beautiful niece, 
Harriet Lane, presided over his household and in- 
stituted a regime of delightful and refined social 
functions with an infusion of something like the 
elegance and foi-mality that prevailed at the White 
House under its first occupant. Tlie President 
was as methodical in his habits as John Quincy 



PRESIDENTS AND THE WHITE HOUSE. 339 

Adams had been. He rose at an early hour and 
took his seat at his desk punctually at eight every 
morning. Save for a brief interval devoted to 
luncheon, he remained in his office until five o'clock. 
There is no doubt that he burdened himself un- 
necessarily with comparatively unimportant details 
and found pleasure in doing so. He read every 
letter addressed to him and himself wrote the re- 
plies of all that were personal in character. He 
attended to the most minute affairs, examining and 
checking all items of the household expenditure. 
It must not be inferred from this that Buchanan 
Ava5 parsimonious. On the contrary, his residence 
in the White House cost him considerably more 
than his salary amounted to. 

In the autumn of lS<iO, the Prince of Wales 
visited the United States and made a stay at the 
White House as the guest of the President. Sev- 
eral entertainments were given in honor of the 
royal visitor but he is said to have been somewhat 
disappointed that a ball was not included among 
them. Buchanan was not willing that what had 
grown into a sort of traditional tabu of dancing at 
the White House should be violated, but the 
Prince's desire for terpsichorean indulgence was 
appeased by a grand ball at the British Embassy. 

During Lincoln's residence, the White House 
was saddened by the shadow of fratricidal war, and 
bv the death of a child who had been his father's 



340 WASHIXGTON. 

constant companion and the pet of the household. 
There were few receptions, but frequent visitors who 
were received with democratic lack of formality. 
The President was always accessible to the most 
lowly of the people and his wife's sweet disposition 
and unfailing cheerfulness endeared her to all with 
whom she came in contact. Much of her time was 
spent on errands of mercy and kindness, comfort- 
ing the bereaved, visiting the hospitals and aiding 
the extention of relief to the soldiers in the field, 
situated a regime of delightful and refined social 
There were those in Washington who mistook Mrs. 
Lincoln's modest simplicity for lack of culture, but 
in this they were widely astray, for the White 
House never had a more refined mistress and sel- 
dom one better educated. 

President Johnson lived a very simple and a 
very laborious life dividing his time between the 
demands of business and attention to his invalid 
wife. Mrs. Patterson, the President's daughter, 
filled a position made difficult by the political es- 
trangement of her father, with tact and patience 
that excited the admiration of observers. The 
social center of the time was, however, the residence 
of the Grants on Minnesota Kow, where the bril- 
liancy of the weekly receptions foreshadowed the 
coming event. 

President Grant maintained in the White House 
the regular and simple habits of the soldier. When 



PKESIDENTS AND THE WHITE HOUSE. 341 

not engaged on official business, he was frequently 
to be seen strolling about Lis grounds or along the 
avenue. A notable event during this term was the 
marriage in the East Room of Xellie, the daugh- 
ter of the President, to Algernon Sartoris, an Eng- 
lishman, on the morning of May 21, IS 74. 

The occcupancy of Hayes marks the only })eriod 
in which intoxicants have been tabu at the White 
House. The portrait of Mrs. Hayes, presented 
by the Women^s National Temperance Union, is 
an acknowledgment of her rigid adherence to total 
abstinence. James Garfield was the only Presi- 
dent whose mother was a resident at the White 
House. Mrs. Eliza Garfield always received with 
her daughter-in-law and was no less popular. The 
more recent occupants of the Executive ;^[ansi()n 
are fresh in the memory of all. 

Now-a-days, our Presidents maintain much the 
same style of simple and dignified elegance in their 
households. There is an established code of eti- 
quette which is democratic without being loose. 
Any citizen bent on public business may call upon 
the Chief Executive during the forenoon. When 
Congress is in session, each day sees the ante-room 
crowded with visitors from every part of the coun- 
try and charged with every conceivable sort of er- 
rand. Office-seekers are not so numerous as they 
were before the institution of the Civil Service 
Commission, but the ni:iji»rity <»f the President's 



342 WASHINGTON. 

callers have either claims to press or requests to 
make. 

The office of secretary to the President has be- 
come an exceedingly important and onerous one. 
To this aide, the President looks for a large meas- 
ure of relief from the tremendous pressure of pub- 
lic business. The private secretary, who has a 
large staff of assistants, goes through the heavy 
mail and sifts it, so that only a comparatively small 
proportion needs the actual attention of the Presi- 
dent. By similar exercise of judgment, the pri- 
vate secretary contrives to dispose of a large num- 
ber of the callers at the office of the White House. 
His relations with the President are very confiden- 
tial and his dealings with the public call for the 
exercise of qualities of the highest order. 

The salary of fifty thousand dollars received by 
the President is generally admitted to be insuffi- 
cient and few occupants of the White House con- 
trive to keep their expenditures within that sum. 
The country provides the furniture of the residence 
and keeps it and the grounds in order, but the 
President is required to meet all the other house- 
hold expenses. The office staff and the private 
secretary are, of course, paid by the Government 
which lays out about one hundred thousand dol- 
lars a year on the maintenance of the White House. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE CAPITOL AND THE LlBK^UtY OF CONGRESS. 

The most important task before the first Com- 
missioners of the District Avas the erection of the 
Capitol — for such it was called from the first, al- 
though in early charts it is marked '' Congress 
House." They advertised for plans and offered a 
premium of five hundred dollars and a building lot 
for the best design. The result tended to show that 
there were few Americans at the time possessing any 
marked degree of talent in the practical arts. The 
advertisement of the Commissioners attracted what 
a later professional architect characterized as '' a 
pile of trash," almost entirely the product of 
amateurs. The first work in connection with the 
Capitol was performed by four foreigners, William 
Thornton, a native of the West Indies, Stephen 
Hallet, a Frenchman, George Hadfield, an Eng- 
lishman, and James Hoban, an Irishman. The 
two first-named submitted plans, parts of both <.f 
which were adopted. The consequence was a quar- 
rel as to the award and a controversy as to the 
credit. It is impossible to reach any definite con- 

343 



344 WASHINGTON. 

elusion from the records of the matter and the 
question is now of only secondary importance 
since the ideas of Thornton and llallct have been 
completely overshadowed by the conceptions of 
tlieir successors. Doctor Thornton served for some 
years as one of the Commissioners of the District 
and afterwards continued his residence in Wash- 
ington where he spent the remainder of his days 
taking a prominent part in the affairs of the city, 
lie brought together a collection of models and 
mechanical devices that became the nucleus of the 
Patent Office, of which he was the first curator. 
The Doctor also enjoys the distinction of having 
founded the race-track at Washington. Hallet ^vas 
employed in the capacity of architect for a few 
inonths but, like his fellow-countryman L'Eufant, 
he quarreled with the Commissioners and was dis- 
missed. 

The corner-stone of the Capitol was laid by 
President Washington on the eighteenth day of 
September, 1793. Shortly afterwards, lladfield 
was invited to come to America and superintend 
the work on the public buildings at Washington. 
He continued in that service until the Spring of 
1798, when he was succeeded by James Iloban, the 
designer of the White House. lladfield was the 
most experienced and talented nuui connected with 
the public works at the capital uj) to that time and 
gave ample proof of his taste and ability in the 



THE CAPITOL AND THE LIBRARY. 345 

designs of the City Hall and the Troasurv l)uil(liii,<,' 
and War Office. Latrobe thought verv hi<ihly of 
him and re-omployed him between I8O0 and 1817. 

The next in succession of Capitol architects was 
tliat versatile genius, the originator of the distinc- 
tive American style of architecture, who did so 
much in various directions towards the matrrial 
advancement of the young nation. Benjamin IL 
Latrobe was born in England and finished his edu- 
cation in Europe. Before returning to his native 
land, in 1782, he made a tour of the Continent for 
the purpose of examining the princi])al ])nl)lic 
buildings. He then entered an architect's office in 
London and later followed that profession with 
moderate success until he came to America in 17lMi. 
There was at that time a wide demand for men of 
his profession in this country, and Latrobe de- 
signed and erected a number of important build- 
ings in Richmond, Philadelphia and Xew York, Ix^ 
sides many private residences. 

In 1803, Benjamin Latrobe was appointed archi- 
tect of the Capitol, which was at the time hardly 
fit for occupancy, the construction work having been 
very faulty. Latrobe, with the assistance of Had- 
field, put the building in a condition of safety 
and made many alterations in the original plans. 
He was, however, prevented by lack of funds from 
carrying his intentions as far as he had desired. 
When the Capitol was burned in 1814, Latrobe was 



346 WASHINGTON. 

at Pittsburg, engaged with Fulton, Livingston, and 
Koosevelt, in the construction of the first steamboat 
to be launched in this country. At the call of the 
Government, he returned to Washington and en- 
t('red upon the work of reconstructing the damaged 
building, which he found in a less ruinous condi- 
tion than he had anticipated. The blue marble 
which is conspicuous in the corridors and in 
Statuary Hall, was substituted for the freestone 
that had been the main material heretofore. La- 
trobe designed the ground ])lan of the two wings 
and was also responsible for the two legislative 
halls. 

Latrobe's connection with Washington is further 
marked by the erection of several notable structure-, 
including Saint John's church and the mansion of 
Eepresentative Van Ness, who married Marcia 
Burnes and settled in the District. He severed his 
connection with the Government in consequence of 
a disagreement with Samuel Lane, the Commis- 
sioner of Public Buildings appointed by President 
Monroe. 

The first native American among the Capitol 
architects was Charles Bullfinch, of I>oston, who 
took the place of Latrobe and, following his plans, 
built the rotunda, the old dome and the library. 
An important piece of \vork performed by Bull- 
finch was the construction of the glacis and ter- 
races on the west side, thus giving the building 



THE CAPITOL AND Tlli! LIBRARY. U1 

an appearance of eqnilibrinin lliat it prcvionslv 
lacked owing to the greater depth oi the structure 
at the end in question. Tlie Capitol was virtu:illv 
completed when Bullfinch retinal, in 1S:50. I If 
erected the old penitentiary at (Irceidcaf's Point, 
where Booth's associates were tried an<l haii,«;vd in 
ISOf). 

For a quarter of a century, the Cajntol remained 
much as Bullfinch had left it. Its cost up to tluit 
time had been somewhat less than three millions ot" 
dollars and has not exceeded fourteen millions in all, 
which is a moderate sum when compared with the 
amounts laid out on similar buildings in Albany, 
Harrisburg and elsewhere. The national Capitol, 
as it stood in 1830, was generally admired by con- 
noisseurs and admitted to be commensurate with the 
growing greatness of the nation. Twenty years 
later, however, Congress recognized that the build- 
ing was inadequate to the business of the expand- 
ing country and the increase of popular representa- 
tion. It was determined to replace the old wings 
by greater ones upon the same plan and the task 
was entrusted to Thomas LL Walter, of Philadel- 
phia, the first classical architect of America. 

This undertaking is remarkable as the first im- 
portant occasion on which the United States En- 
gineer Corps took part in the erection of a public 
building in Washington — work which is largely 
in its hands at present. Captain Montgomery C. 



348 WASHINGTON. 

Meigs was associated with Walter in making the 
additions to the Capitol. He had control of the 
disbursements and must have been invested with 
further authority, for he changed the architect's 
plans in some particulars. Walter's improvements 
included the beautiful dome, which is the finest 
feature of the edifice, and brought the Capitol prac- 
tically to the state in which it now stands. During 
the stirring days of the war, work progressed on 
the Capitol, betokening the Government's confi- 
dence in the outcome of the struggle, and on the 
second day of December, 1863, Crawford's Goddess 
of Liberty took her stand upon the summit of the 
dome. Towards the end of 1867, the building was 
pronounced finished '' in such a manner that it 
would last for ages as a creditable monument of 
the state of the arts at this time in this country." 

It is doubtful if any building in the world pro- 
duces so imposing an effect as the Capitol at Wash- 
ington. Its base rests upon the summit of a hill 
at an elevation of nearly one hundred feet above 
the level of the streets of the city and its crowning 
statue overtops them by more than four hundred 
feet. The grandeur of the structure is enhanced 
by the fifty acres of lawn and ])ark by which it is 
surrounded. This setting and its elevated position 
relieve the building of any appearance of heaviness, 
despite the massive proportions of its bulk which 
covers three and one-half acres of ground. The 



THE CAPITOL AND THE EIBKARY. 349 

dome that rises from the center of the pile, the 
most conspicuous object in the landscape for miles 
around, has an aspect of graceful liiihtness, al- / 
though it weighs more than eight million poun<ls. ' 
Viewed as the culminating point of the vista down 
Pennsylvania Avenue and poised against the back- 
ground of sky, it presents a picture that is unsur- 
passed by any of the works of modern architecture. 
The total length of the building is slightly more 
than seven hundred and fifty feet and its greatest 
breadth, somewhat less than half that distance. 
The main portion lies between a basement and an 
attic story. From the former rise ranks of pillars 
to the entablature which is surmounted by a marble 
balustrade. The east side, where the entrance 
steps rise from the roadway, was designed for the 
front but the noble approach from the other side 
and the fact that the greater part of the traffic is 
by the doors on the west have brought about a gen- 
erally recog-nized reversal of the original order. 

The rotunda and dome, taken as component 
parts of a whole, constitute the most beautiful and 
— from the architectural point of view — the most 
interesting portion of the Capitol. The rotun(la 
occupies the center of the orginal structure. To 
the north of it extends the Senate side of the 
building and to the south, the House side. On the 
former flank lies tlie old Hall of the Senate, now 
occupied by the Supreme Court; on the latter, 



350 WASIIIXGTON. 

Statuary Ilall which was formerly the chamber of 
the House of Kepresentatives. The rotunda is 
three hundred feet in circumference and its cir- 
cular wall rises to a height of one hundred and 
eighty-five feet, or slightly more than twice the 
length of its diameter. A circle of windows above 
the frieze lights this magnificent clnnnber, wdiose 
ceiling is the dome. The panels of the walls con- 
tain large oil paintings of historic events. The 
most noteworthy of these pictures are the four 
TrundjuU canvases devoted to subjects connected 
with the Revolution. The value of these paintings 
is derived chiefly from the fact that the principal 
figures in them are actual portraits of the char- 
acters represented. Colonel John Trumbull, who 
as aide-de-camp to General Washington had unusual 
opportunities for familiarizing himself with the 
features of the leading Americans of the time, im- 
proved a natural talent for painting by study in 
Europe. After the war, he traveled through this 
country and secured sittings from the most con- 
spicuous actors in the Revolution and after more 
than thirty years of preparation, he executed the 
pictures in the rotunda under a commission from 
Congress. 

The spherical portion of the dome is covered by 
an allegorical fresco by Brumidi in which the 
figures are of colossal size. Tliis oc(Mi]>ies a field 
of more than forty-five himdrcd s(|uare feet. This 



THE CAPITOL AND THE LIBKAKY. 351 

may be examined to greater advantage from the gal- 
lery which encircles the rotunda jnst above the 
frieze and which is reached by a stairway starting 
from the adjacent lobby. The spiral stair con- 
tinues up to the crowning cupola, which contains a 
large lantern, lighted only when Congress is in 
session, and above which stands the enormous statue 
of Liberty that — owing to its headdress of feath- 
ers and ample drapery — is so often taken by 
visitors to be an Indian wrapped in a blanket. 
The bronze figure, with its pedestal is twenty feet 
in height and weighs about fifteen thousand pounds. 
It was raised to its position in sections, the head 
and shoulders being put in place on the second of 
December, 1863, to the salute of cannon. 

From this point a wide and beautiful panorama 
extends on every side, such as can be secured else- 
where only from the top of the Washington monu- 
ment, but as the two structures are more than a mile 
apart each aifords a difference of view. It is only 
from some such elevation that one can gain a full 
realization of the natural beauties of Washington 
and the artistic excellence of its arrangement. The 
traveler who has seen '' all the kingdoms of the 
world and the glory of them " shall find here an 
impression that no other city can make upon him. 
The clear air, broad streets and open spaces make 
the picture sharp and definite. Every essential 
detail stands out distinct and nowhere is the mar- 



852 WASHINGTON. 

ring effect of congested slums. And this picture 
of a city, incomparable in many respects, is set 
in surrounding scenery of the most lovely and 
diversified description. But to return to tlie 
ground floor of the Capitol — 

Passing southward along the main corridor, one 
enters the Hall of Statuary, which until 1857 was 
the meeting place of the House of Representatives. 
It is a fine semicircular chamber, embellished with 
marble columns and designed upon ideas suggested 
by ancient Grecian models. It is a forcible re- 
minder of the growth of the country in half a cen- 
tury, for the present body of Representatives could 
hardly find standing room in it, whereas it for- 
merly contained not only the desks of all the mem- 
bers but left a liberal space beyond them. Abont 
thirty years ago, there was talk of sacrificing this 
historic chamber to some fanciful scheme of ai'chi- 
tectural improvement but fortunately the idea was 
abandoned. There is no point in the Capitol to 
which more stirring memories attach than this. 
Here the great questions that agitated the nation 
in the fifty years following 1808 were debated and 
some of the most important legislative measures iu 
our history decided. These walls have echoed to 
the eloquence, the wisdom and the wit of Webster, 
Clay, Adams, Calhoun, Ran(l<)l])h, AFarshall, Davis, 
and many more of the nation's most l)rilliant and 
gifted statesmen. 



THE CAPITOL AND THE LIBKARY. 353 

Congress fittingly decided to devote the old cham- 
ber to a collection of statnes of the great men of 
the country and invited each State to send ^^ the 
effigies of two of her chosen sons in marble or 
in bronze, to be placed permanently here." The 
selection for such an honor is no light or easy mat- 
ter and many of the States have yet to exercise 
their privilege. 

Among the notables gathered here is one woman 
— Frances Elizabeth Willard, whose statue is the 
work of another — Helen Farnsworth Mear. At 
its base is inscribed the following eloquent plea of 
the apostle of temperance : 

" Ah ! it is women who have given the costliest 
hostages to fortune, when to the battle of life they 
have sent their best beloved wdth fearful odds 
against them. Oh, by the dangers they have dared, 
by the hours of patient w^atching over beds where 
helpless children lay, by the incense of ten thou- 
sand prayers w^afted from their gentle lips to 
heaven — I charge you give them power to protect, 
along life's treacherous highw^ay, those whom they 
have so loved." 

The present chamber of the House of Represen- 
tatives is a simple but spacious and imposing hall, 
one hundred and thirty-nine feet long and ninety- 
three feet W'ide. The floor space is occupied mainly 
with desks of the members arranged in paral- 
lel, diminishing semicircles, converging upon the 
23 



354 WASIilXGTON. 

Speaker's rostrum. "^ This is of white marble, stand- 
ing upon a platform at an elevation of four or five 
feet above the ground. To the right of it is a 
pedestal, on which is erected the Speaker's Mace, 
when the House is in session. When it is in Com- 
mittee of the Whole, the Mace is laid upon the 
floor. This symbol of authority is composed of a 
bundle of ebony rods bound with silver bands, in 
semblance of the fasces carried by the Roman 
lictors. It is surmounted by a silver globe on 
which an eagle is poised with outstretched wings. 
About the Speaker's desk are placed marble tables 
for the clerks and reporters of the House and above 
and behind it is the press gallery. The doors flank- 
ing this focal point open upon the House lobby, the 
walls of which are hung with portraits of by-gone 
Speakers. Some of the best paintings in the 
Capitol are to be found in the House of Repre- 
sentatives. 

Passing from the rotunda to the Senate wing of 
the building, one comes first to the Supreme Court 
Room, which was abandoned by the upper branch 
of Congress in 1859, two years after the Repre- 
sentatives took possession of their present hall. 
The chamber was designed by Latrobe after classic 
models and in its main features resembles Statuary 

* It has been decided to remodel the chamber. It is to 
be considerably curtailed in size in order to facilitate speak- 
injj with cfTcct. The dosks are to jrive place to benches after 
the fashion of the British House of Commons. 



THE CAPITOL AND THE LIBRAKY. 355 

Hall. Along its diameter is a row of marble 
columns, screening a logia above which is a gallery. 
The ample chairs of the nine Justices are ranged 
upon a railed-in platform, in front of these columns. 
In the center of the room are large tables for the 
use of counsel and in the space beyond are seats 
for spectators. Around the walls are placed busts 
of former Chief-Justices of the United States, to 
wit, John Jay, of New York; John Rutledge, of 
South Carolina ; Oliver Ellsworth, of Connecticut ; 
John Marshall, of Virginia ; Roger B. Taney, of 
Maryland ; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio ; and Mor- 
rison R. Waite, of Ohio. 

The Senate chamber is similar to that of the 
House in general plan but somewhat smaller in 
dimensions. The walls, like those of the House of 
Representatives, are finished in buff and gold, and 
embellished with statuary and paintings. The 
seats of the Senators are arranged in the same man- 
ner as those in the other legislative hall, but the 
station of the President is less imposing than that 
of the Speaker. The galleries surround the cham- 
ber as in the House but are neither so extensive 
nor so much sought, for the public appears to find 
the debates of the lower branch tlie more attractive, 
although the Senate has been drawing more popu- 
lar attention to itself in recent years than before. 

Opening off the lobby in the rear of the cham- 
ber is the beautiful and richlv decorated marble 



356 WASHINGTON. 

room used by Senators for the reception of callers. 
Nearby is the President's room which is seldom 
used. The Chief Executive sometimes comes here 
to sign bills in the closing hours of a session. 

The handsome building of the Library of Con- 
gress stands in an open space that forms an exten- 
sion of the Capitol reservation. The ground was 
purchased for its present purpose from private 
owners at a cost of somewhat more than half a 
million of dollars. Six millions additional were ex- 
pended upon the structure which was commenced in 
1889 and completed eight years later. It is a three- 
storied edifice with dome, constructed in the Italian 
Renaissance style of architecture, its walls on every 
side broken by frequent windows of which there are 
nearly two thousand in all. The length of the build- 
ing is one hundred and fifty yards and its breadth 
approximately, two-thirds as great. It covers three 
and one-half acres, or the same amount of ground 
as the Capitol. 

The exterior walls are of gi'anite, whilst marble 
is the princi])al material of the interior construc- 
tion. The main feature of the building is a central 
rotunda, rising to the apex of the dome. This is 
the public reading room. Two galleries, cor- 
responding to the stories of the building, encircle 
the walls. The rotunda is surrounded by a paral- 
lelogram of galleries and pavilions on two floors. 
These are devoted to a variety of purposes, but aside 



THE CAPITOL AND THE LIBRARY. 357 

from the contents of the apartments, the building is 
one extensive art exhibit. Every square inch of 
surface on wall, ceiling or floor betrays the touch 
of the decorative artist. Paintings, sculpture, 
mosaics, carved wood and ornamental metal work 
meet the eye at every turn. In fact the wealth of 
decoration is embarrassing and oppressive at fir-t 
sight and it is not until one's third or fourth visit 
to the place that the beauty of the surroundings 
can be fully appreciated. When time has mellowed 
the colors and dulled the sheen, the Library of Con- 
gress will have one of the most enchanting interiors 
in the world. It is a matter for proud satisfaction 
that the architects, sculptors and painters who cre- 
ated this fairy palace are all Americans. 

The Library of Congress was founded by an Act 
of the national Legislature which, in 1800, appro- 
priated the sum of five thousand dollars for the 
purchase of " such books as may be necessary for 
the use of Congress at the City of Washington." 
At the time that the library Avas burnt in the Capi- 
tol fire of 1814, only about three thousand volumes 
had been accumulated. In 1815, the library of 
Thomas Jefferson, comprising about seven thousand 
well-selected books, was bought and formed the 
nucleus of a new national library. From 1817 it 
was lodged in the Capitol until removed to its pres- 
ent abode. During the closing month of 1851, a 
fire broke out in the librarv and destroved two- 



358 WASHINGTON. 

thirds of the books which by that time numbered 
fifty-five thousand. An appropriation was at once 
made by Congress to replace as far as possible the 
lost volumes and to render the hall occupied by the 
library fireproof. In 1866, the collection, which 
had expanded greatly, was augmented by the acces- 
sion of the scientific library of the Smithsonian In- 
stitution and in the following year by the purchase 
of the historical material that had been gathered 
by Peter Force at the expense of great labor and 
pains. Further addition was made in 1870, when 
the copyright business was transferred from the 
Patent Office to the Library of Congress. As the 
law requires that two copies of every publication 
copyrighted must be deposited with the Librarian 
of Congress, this is a constant source of increase. 
The various articles received in compliance with the 
copyright law in the past ten years, such as books, 
maps, engravings, photographs, etc., have numbered 
1,714,328. In the last year alone they amounted 
to 227,047, being an increase of nearly sixteen thou- 
sand over the receipts of the preceding year. 

The administration of the Library is under a 
librarian appointed by the President, subject to con- 
firmation by the Senate. The building and grounds 
are in charge of a Superintendent, similarly ap- 
pointed. At present Herbert Putnam, formerly of 
the Boston Library, holds the former position and 
Bernard R. Green, the latter. The Superintendent 



THE CAPITOL AND THE LIBRARY. 359 

employs in tlie building, one hundred and twenty- 
seven persons and the Librarian, three hundred and 
twenty-four. In addition to these, the Public 
Printer details seventy-seven of his employees to 
work exclusively for the Library of Congress. 

In 1897 the Library established a Division of 
Manuscripts, with the purpose of creating one cen- 
tral place of deposit in which there should be 
every precaution taken for the safety of the manu- 
scripts and where there should be a force adequate 
to listing and making the documents accessible to 
the general public. It is fitted throughout with 
strictly modern appliances for receiving, hand- 
ling, and storing manuscript material. The more 
important collections now in the Library are: 1. 
The Peter Force collection, rich in colonial and 
Revolutionary history. 2. A mass of material of 
a unique description, chiefly relating to the colonial 
history of Virginia, from the library of Thomas 
Jefferson. 3. The Rochambeau papers, purchased 
by Congress in 1883. 4. Naval papers relating 
to a number of early commanders. 5. Papers of 
the early Presidents, and many other prominent 
public men. 6. Diplomatic papers of the Confed- 
erate States. 

The valuable maps and atlases belonging to the 
Library form probably the most extensive, cer- 
tainly the most thoroughly equipped and accessible, 
collection in the United States. It comprises over 



360 WASHIXGTON. 

eighty-five thousand maps and thirty-six thousand 
atlases. The latter are especially noteworthy as 
including nearly all the geographical works of 
Ptolemy, Ortelius, Mercator, Blaeu, and others. 

Established in 1897, the Music Division has in 
its custody all the music and books on nuisic ac- 
quired by the Library either through copyright 
or by purchase. The collection amounted in July, 
1906, to a grand total of 451,834 volumes, pam- 
phlets, volumes and pieces, of which 15,324 illus- 
trate the history, theory and study of music. The 
yearly accessions now amount to more than twen- 
ty-five thousand volumes, pamphlets and pieces. 

The collection of prints numbers upwards of a 
quarter of a million, covering ever process and rep- 
resenting all schools. There have recently been 
purchased a collection of twenty-five thousand pho- 
tographs of paintings and sculpture in European 
galleries and of foreign architecture. 

The Law Library of Congress and the Supreme 
Court was established by Act of Congress in 
1832. It contains over one hundred and twenty 
thousand volumes and is the largest collection of 
strictly law books in the world. It includes the 
most complete single collection of Yearbooks (re- 
ports of the cases decided in tlie English courts 
dnring the reigns from Edward I to Heniy VIII), 
many early editions of the classical treatises on 
Anglo-American law, an almost complete collection 



THE CAPITOL AND THE LIBRARY. 361 

of the first editions of the session laws of Rhode 
Island and Massachusetts, and it is rapidly devel- 
oping a good working collection of the modern law 
literature of all the countries of the world. 

The Library was originally established for the 
use merely of Congress. It is now, however, a 
general public library, open as freely for reference 
use as any in the world. Since its removal to the 
new building, its collections and its service have 
so extended that it is now familiarly entitled the 
^' National Library." Any person from any place 
may examine within its walls any book in its pos- 
session, and may do this without introduction or 
credentials. The Library is open from nine in the 
morning until ten at night on ordinary days. On 
Sundays and all holidays, excepting the Fourth of 
July and Christmas Day, also excepting Saturday 
afternoons during July, August and September, 
from tw^o o'clock in the afternoon until ten at 
night. 

Books for home use are issued to certain classes 
designated by statute and, within the District of 
Columbia, in effect any person engaged in a seri- 
ous investigation which absolutely requires it. 

Of late the Library has also lent books to other 
libraries in various parts of the country for the 
convenience of investigators engaged in research 
calculated to advance the boundaries of knowledge. 
It also aids the same class of workers by publica- 



362 WASHINGTON. 

tions exhibiting material in its collections upon 
topics under current discussion or within fields of 
special research. It answers inquiries addressed 
to it bj mail in so far as they can be answered by 
bibliographic information — that is by reference 
to printed authorities. The number of such in- 
quiries now exceed ten thousand a year and the 
Library is widely recoguized as a bureau of in- 
formation upon matters bibliographic. 

The Library is but one of a score of Govern- 
ment libraries at Washington. There are in the 
various Departments and scientific bureaus of the 
Government collections aggregating over one mil- 
lion volumes. Certain of these are preeminent in 
the world within the field with which they deal. 
With them, the Library of Congress is seeking to 
form an organic system. It will be this system, 
rather than the Library of Congress alone, which 
will comprise the National Library of the United 
States. In number of volumes it would already 
equal any library in the world. 



CHAPTER XV. 

CONGEESS AND THE SUPREME COURT. 

Congress convened in Washington for the first 
time, ^^ovember 17, 1800. A quorum was not 
secured until a few days later, when the announce- 
ment was made to the Executive that the Legis- 
lature was prepared to transact business and 
President Adams proceeded to the Capitol in some 
state and delivered his " annual message." Thomas 
Jefferson was then President of the Senate and 
Theodore Sedgwick, Speaker of the House. Nei- 
ther legislative body was comfortably provided for 
at that time nor until the chambers constructed 
by Latrobe were opened in 1817. In general, 
however, the members submitted to the inconven- 
iences to which they were subjected with little com- 
plaint. The House was distinctively the working 
body in those days. The Senate kept short hours 
and^ did comparatively little, having a much less 
extensive idea of its functions than at present. 
Members in both chambers sat with their heads, 
covered, after the fashion of the English parlia- 
ment, which is derived from a period when doffing 

363 



364 WASHINGTON. 

the liat was an act of greater significance than 
now. Snuff was generally taken and the furni- 
ture of the legislative hall included a large recep- 
tacle which was kept supplied with a quantity of 
that stimulant for the free use of members. Each 
body had its official pen doctor, who repaired the 
goose-quills of the members and its official sealer, 
who made their letters and packages fast with 
wax. It was a day of bare faces and powder and 
wigs; of decorous and stilted speech; of somber 
garb and simple life. 

In that CongTess — the Sixth in succession and 
the first at the Capitol — were many men who had 
already made their mark in the country's history 
and others who were destined to do so. Among 
the thirty-two Senators were not a few who had 
fought in the Revolutionary War or had taken an 
active part in the organization of the Republic. 
John Armstrong", of Xew York, had abandoned his 
books to shoulder a musket whilst yet in his teens. 
His colleague, Gouverneur ^lorris, who prided 
himself upon his likeness to Washington, had been 
a leadinc; liiiht in the Continental Congress, as also 
had been Samuel Livermore, of Xew Hampshire, 
Jonathan Trumbull, of Xew Jersey. Stevens 
]\Iason, of Virginia, Charles Pinckney, of South 
Carolina, Humphrey ^larshall, of Kentucky, and 
JosejJi Anderson, of Tennessee, were among the 
Revolutionarv veterans who fiiiured in this Senate. 



CONGRESS AND THE SUPREME COURT. 365 

In the House were the dignified and polished 
Sedgwick, Nathaniel Macon, of North Carolina, 
characterized bj the caustic John Randolph as 
^' the wisest, purest and best man " he had ever 
known. From South Carolina, was General Sum- 
ter, soon to become a Senator, and from Pennsyl- 
vania, Peter Muhlenberg, who, at the instigation 
o£ Washington, exchanged a cleric's gown for the 
uniform of a colonel. Varnum, of Massachusetts, 
Roger Griswold, of Connecticut, Edward Living- 
stone, of New York, Albert Gallatin, of Philadel- 
phia, John Rutledge, of South Carolina, Littleton 
Tazewell and John Randolph, of Virginia, were 
among the notable men who came to Washington 
as Representatives in the second session of the 
Sixth Congress. 

The first provision of the Constitution is that 
all legislative powers granted by it ^' shall be vested 
in a Congress of the United States which shall 
consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." 
The instrument goes on to stipulate that the House 
shall be composed of members elected every second 
year by the citizens of the several States and that 
they shall be residents of the States they represent, 
shall be twenty-five or more years of age, and shall 
have been at least seven years citizens of the United 
States. The representatives are to be apportioned 
among the States according to population, the entire 
number not to exceed one for every thirty thou- 



366 WASHINGTON. 

sand of the people, and each State to be entitled to 
at least one representative. The ratio of repre- 
sentation is now more than five times as great as 
it was in 1789. In the first Congress, Xew Hamp- 
shire had three representatives, Massachusetts 
eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 
one, Connecticut five, New York six. New Jersey 
four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland 
six, \'irginia ten, North Carolina five. South Caro- 
lina five, and Georgia three, — making sixty-five in 
all. At present there are nearly four hundred rep- 
resentatives and delegates. Delaware, Virginia 
and Maryland have the same representation as at 
first, but two members sit for New Hampshire and 
only four for Connecticut, whilst New York is rep- 
resented by thirty-four and Pennsylvania by 
twenty-eight. 

Every two years the terms of the members ex- 
pire and a new House is elected, this two-year 
period constituting a Congress. Each Congress 
has two regular sessions and may be called in extra 
session by the President at any time that he may 
deem their meeting advisable. The long session 
begins on the first Monday in December following 
the expiration of the previous body, and usually 
contiiuies for six or more months. The short ses- 
sion commences with the first Monday in Decem- 
ber of the second year and must terminate at noon 
on the fourth day of March following. This legal 



CONGRESS AND THE SUPREME COURT. 367 

requirement is frequently the occasion for the per- 
petration of an interesting fraud. The last days 
of a Congress are generally very busy ones, and as 
the closing hours expire it is often evident that the 
business in hand will require for its completion 
more time than the body has legitimately at its 
command. On such occasions, the doorkeeper 
comes to the aid of the members and as the hands 
of the clock approach the hour of twelve, takes a 
stick and puts them back half an hour. This ma- 
neuver is repeated as often as necessary. Mean- 
while bills are presented and passed with as much 
rapidity as articles are put up and knocked down 
in an auction room. 

The Constitution provided that Senators are to 
be chosen by the legislatures of the several States 
and that each State, regardless of size, should be 
entitled to two Senators. The term of a Senator's 
office is six years and elections are so arranged that 
one-third of the body is chosen every second year. 
Thus, the Senate has no termination but is a con- 
tinuous body, like the Supreme Court. The sal- 
aries of Senators and Representatives are the same 
— seven thousand five hundred dollars each — and 
the President of the Senate and Speaker of the 
House receive the same amount — twelve thousand 
dollars yearly. 

The character and functions of the two bodies 
are very different. The House distinctly repre- 
sents the people, whilst the Senators are representa- 



368 WASHINGTON. 

tives of the sovereign States. This at least was the 
idea of the framers of the Constitution, bnt it no 
longer jn-evails and the rapidly spreading practice 
of subjecting Senate nominations to primary elec- 
tions promises to make the upper house a popular 
assembly before long. The Senate has the ex- 
clusive privilege of ratifying treaties with foreign 
powers and the appointments of the President are 
STd3Ject to its confirmation. The House, on the 
other hand, has the exclusive right of originating 
appropriation bills. 

The business of both branches of Congress is 
performed mainly by the various committees, 
wliicli have meeting rooms scattered all over th(^ 
Capitol building. The committees investigate the 
subjects of bills submitted to them, hold hearings, 
summon witnesses, give the matter of each bill 
their best consideration, and report their con- 
clusions to the body to which they belong. Com- 
mittee reports are usually acted upon and debates 
in either chamber have comparatively little effect 
upon legislation, although the popular idea is that 
the speeches made upon the floor decide the action 
of the members. The Speaker has the appoint- 
ment of the several committees and as the majority 
of every committee — or at least of every one of 
importance — is made up of members from the 
party in power, the Speaker's control of legislation 
is great. Every Congress includes a handful of 



CONGKESS AND THE SUPKEME COURT. 369 

men of exceptional ability in each chamber and 
these are generally responsible for the final action 
of momentous questions. 

The proceedings in House and Senate are much 
the same and resemble those of all parliamentary 
bodies. The latter has the reputation of being the 
more dignified and orderly body, though some of 
the speeches delivered and scenes enacted upon its 
floor in recent years have been calculated to rob 
it of that distinction. The House is none too de- 
corous. Visitors during a debate are apt to be 
disappointed and surprised at the confusion that 
often prevails when several members at once seek 
recognition by the Speaker. The general attitude, 
however, is one of listlessness. Whilst one is ad- 
dressing the House, others are conversing, writing 
letters, reading newspapers, w^alking the aisles, or 
lying back in their chairs with feet placed upon 
their desks. Kow and again, an exchange of un- 
printable compliments, or even a fist fight, relieves 
the monotony of the proceedings. 

The maintenance of the national legislature is 
a very expensive matter. The annual salaries and 
mileage amount to about two and one half millions 
of dollars. The staff of the Senate is numerous 
and includes a secretary, a chief clerk, a financial 
clerk, and sixteen under-clerks, with aggregate sal- 
aries of about fifty thousand dollars. There is a 
librarian with an assistant and a keeper of the 
24 



370 WASHINGTON. 

stationery with two assistants, whose j^ay amounts 
to eighty-five hundred dollars yearly. There are 
four official reporters who are paid six thousand 
two hundred dollars each annually. Then there are 
the sergeant-at-arms, the doorkeeper, with a num- 
ber of assistants, the bookkeepers, postmaster and 
deputy, and several mail carriers. These with in- 
cidental expenses will make a total approximating 
half a million of dollars. 

The expenses of the House of Representatives 
are very much greater than those of the Senate. 
The chief clerk of the House and his assistants 
have salaries aggTCgating nearly thirty thousand 
dollars. The Speaker has a private secretary and 
two clerks. There is a doorkeeper Avith something 
like fifty assistants and messengers under him, 
whose salaries amount to fifty thousand dollars. 
There are a host of committee clerks and a legion 
of pages. The sergeant-at-arms has a numerous 
staif. There are several official stenographers, a 
postmaster and assistant, with ten or a dozen clerks, 
an '^ upholsterer and locksmith," and a '^ conductor 
of the elevator," besides other attaches. The sta- 
tionery and newspapers for the House cost about 
fifty thousand a year, ten thousand is paid for 
the repair of furniture, and the expenses of special 
committees run into anotlier fifty thousand or 
more. If the amount of salaries and mileage is 
added to that of the miscellaneous expenses, we 



CONGRESS AND THE SUPREME COURT. 371 

have a sum approximating two and a half millions 
of dollars. 

Each annual session of Congress, then, costs the 
country in excess of three and one half millions 
of dollars and it may easily be seen that our ad- 
ministrative work, even before the reforms insti- 
tuted by the Keep Commission, was performed 
much more economically than our legislation. If 
vje reduce these figures to a computation of the 
actual cost of sessions, it appears that for each day 
Congress sits the country is called on to pay fifty 
thousand dollars. 

The daily sessions begin at noon — most of the 
members having previously spent some hours in 
committee — and continue until four or five 
o'clock. Occasionally, press of business, or some 
party maneuver will occasion a night session, but 
these are seldom held except towards the close of 
a term. Each chamber is opened daily by its chap- 
lain with prayer, after which follows what is called 
" the morning hour." This is devoted to the read- 
ing of the journal, to the reception of the committee 
reports, to the introduction of bills and to their 
reference to the appropriate committees. Follow- 
ing the morning hour, bills are taken from the cal- 
endar and considered until adjournment. 

The official reporters of Congress take down the 
speeches and proceedings of each session in either 
chamber. These are afterwards printed in the offi- 



372 WASHINGTON. 

cial publication styled The Congressional Record, 
The printed record of speeches is supposed to be a 
verbatim report but is actually very far from such. 
Proof-sheets are submitted to members, who make 
liberal revisions in them. Not a few of the 
speeches that appear in the Record have never been 
uttered, for Congressmen commonly secure '' per- 
mission to print," when all they have to do is to 
send the matter to the printer and mail copies of 
the publication to their constituents. The Record 
purports to be an account of the previous day's 
proceedings, but members frequently withhold their 
addresses in order to secure a good position for 
them at a later date and the publication runs for 
several weeks after the legislature has adjourned. 
Formerly the literal reporting of speeches in the 
Congressional Record was considered a matter of 
much greater importance than it now is and one 
of the many exciting incidents connected with Con- 
gress turned upon this point. One day in April, 
1860, Koger Pryor, of Virginia, taxed a member 
from Wisconsin, named Potter, with making 
changes in the record of a speech delivered by the 
latter on the floor of the House. The accusation 
led to a spirited dialogue between the two in the 
House and to a subsequent challenge by Pryor. 
Potter accepted and named bowie knives as the 
w^eapons. To this Pryor demurred on the ground 
that they were barbarous and inhuman. Potter 



CONGKESS AND THE SUPREME COUKT. 373 

rejoined that in his opinion, the whole system of 
duelling was barbarous and inhuman but, if he 
was to be forced into a fight, he proposed to place 
himself on equal terms with his adversary. As the 
objection was repeated, Lander, Potter's second, 
offered himself without restriction to Pryor, in the 
place of his principal. The challenger disclaimed 
any quarrel with Lander and the matter fell 
through. 

The ^' third house," as the lobby is sometimes 
called, has been in existence since the inception of 
Congress. With the growth of publicity and pub- 
lic knowledge of affairs, and the increasing honesty 
of members, it has become much less extensive and 
effective than it used to be. Still, all the most 
important commercial and financial interests of the 
country are represented at Washington by persons 
whose business it is to influence the passage of 
legislation or to prevent it. Lobbying requires 
talents of no mean order and it is a highly re- 
munerative calling. Among the most successful 
lobbyists have been women, ex-members of Con- 
gress, and retired army officers of high rank. The 
lobbyist does not depend upon mere persuasion to 
gain his ends. Various influences are brought to 
bear upon committee-men and other members, but 
it is doubtful if direct bribery is ever resorted to 
in these days. The lynx-eyed press has been the 
chief agency in working the decline of lobbying in 



374 WASHINGTON. 

the national legislature and jobbery in the national 
administration. It is customary to talk of graft 
as rampant at the present time but a study of the 
past records of Congress will satisfy anyone that 
the public men of to-day are greatly superior to 
their predecessors in the matters of integrity and 
honest service. So also will a fair comparison 
show that we have to-day as talented men in office 
as we ever had. The historian of the future Avill 
give to some of our living statesmen and adminis- 
trators much higher place in our history than we 
are willing to accord them. 

The Constitution provided for the creation of 
the Supreme Court and the First Congress passed 
an Act organizing the body with a Chief-Justice 
and five Associate-Justices, to be nominated by 
the President and confirmed by the Senate. Pres- 
ident Washington appointed Jolm Jay, the great- 
est jurist of the time in this country, to be Chief- 
Justice, and Avith him were associated William 
Cushing, of ^lassachusetts, James Wilson, of 
Pennsylvania, John Blair, of Virginia, James Ire- 
dell, of North Carolina, and John Rutledge, of 
South Carolina. John Tucker, of Boston, was the 
first Clerk of the Supreme Court. 

The first session of the Supreme Court was held 
in New York, on the first ]\ronday in February, 
1790. In the course of the month several famous 
advocates were admitted to practice at its bar, 



CONGKESS AND THE SUPREME COURT. 375 

among them being Theodore Sedgwick, Fisher 
Ames and Robert Morris. The requirements Avere 
that they should have been in practice before the 
State Supreme Courts for three or more years, and 
that their private and professional characters 
should be fair. It was not until one year later 
that a case was brought before the Court. 

The Supreme Court moved with the Govern- 
ment to Philadelphia, in 1791, and again accom- 
panied it to Washington, in 1801, holding its first 
session on the first Monday of February in that 
year, in a basement room of the Capitol directly 
beneath the present chamber. 

Previous to the Civil War, the docket seldom 
contained as many as one hundred cases. Now it 
commonly has more than one thousand entries at 
the time the Court enters into session. These are 
for the most part, appeals from the findings of the 
Circuit Courts. Original cases before the Su- 
preme Court are comparatively few. The 
presentation of a case to the Supreme Court 
requires printed arguments and briefs and a 
printed record of the proceedings of the lower 
court involved. Five days of the week are devoted 
to hearing arguments. On Saturdays the judges 
meet in consultation and on Mondays their de- 
cisions are delivered. 

If the Court is in session, the visitor will find 
the place pervaded by an atmosphere of quiet dig- 



376 WASHINGTON. 

nity. The learned members of the highest tri- 
bunal in the land are ranged four on either side 
of the venerable Chief-Justice Fuller. A lawyer 
of national reputation is, perhaps, addressing an 
argument to the Court. These arbiters — for such 
they essentially are — listen attentively and oc- 
casionally one or the other asks a question or inter- 
jects a remark. Meanwhile the attorney who is 
presenting his case may talk on for two hours and 
with the special permission of the Court, for 
longer, whilst the listening layman votes it the dry- 
est speech that he has ever heard. Eloquence is at 
a discount here and rhetoric valueless. Cold fact 
and legal logic are all that count. Those nine 
grave, sable-gowned men will study the case and 
decide its merits from the matter-of-fact printed 
page and bring all their learning and experience to 
bear upon it without consideration for the oppos- 
ing counsel or their respective clients. Each of 
the nine is an acknowledged specialist in some par- 
ticular branches of law and to him are assigned the 
cases that come Avithin his peculiar province. 
All meet for consultation on Saturday, when each 
Justice presents to his fellows the conclusions that 
he has reached on the cases submitted to his ex- 
amination. Argument follows and finally tlie en- 
tire bench is polled, beginning witli the youngest, 
the Chief-Justice having the deciding voice in the 
event of a tie. The task of writing the final opin- 



CONGRESS AND THE SUPREME COURT. 377 

ion of the Court is then imposed upon one of the 
members. After being approved by the body, the 
decision is read on Monday in open court and be- 
comes the most authoritative legal diction of the 
land. 

It is safe to say that the Justices of the Su- 
preme Court work as hard as any men in our hard- 
working community. The hours actually spent on 
the bench are, perhaps, the easiest portions of their 
day. Each performs what the average lawyer 
would deem a good day's work at his home every 
evening and forenoon, keeping a secretary busy. 
When they separate for the summer vacation, their 
baggage is bulky with the papers in important 
cases needing more than ordinary consideration. 
They carry a fearful weight of responsibility upon 
their shoulders, for the most momentous issues 
often turn upon their decisions, from which there 
is no appeal. 

It may be said, with truth, that this august in- 
stitution holds in its hand the destiny of the nation. 
It possesses extraordinary power — greater than 
that reposed in any other body in the \vorld — 
greater than that of the President of the United 
States, or, indeed, of most constitutional monarchs. 
The veto of the President may be overridden by a 
two-thirds vote of Congress, and neither King Ed- 
ward nor the Kaiser would dare persistently to 
oppose the pronounced action of their people's rep- 



378 WASHINGTON. 

resentatives. But the Supreme Court may nullify 
a measure of Congress and its decision is final. It 
is very doubtful if the framers of the instrument 
which created the Supreme Court designed to give 
it this vital power over the acts of Congress, but 
popular assent has long since affirmed it. 

Upon the judgment of these nine men, or a ma- 
jority of them, depend the most momentous issues 
in our national affairs. When, in a speech deliv- 
ered at St. Louis in 1907, President Roosevelt stated 
that the fate and ultimate effect of his policy must 
rest largely upon the question whether the Consti- 
tution is to be construed broadly or otherwise, his 
thoughts and his hopes must have been centered upon 
the future dicta of the Supreme Court. With them 
it lies to make the reformative legislation instigated 
by the present Administration, permanent or to 
render it of no avail. When this great question 
conies before these nine eminent jurists, it will di- 
vide them more sharply than ever before, but we 
shall have the satisfaction of knowing that what- 
ever the decision it will be the outcome of honest 
conviction, deep learning and exhaustive reflection. 

Melville Weston Fuller was appointed Chief-Jus- 
tice of the Supreme Court by President Cleveland, 
nearly twenty years ago. Previous to his elevation 
to the highest legal position in the land, he had 
practised law in Illinois for more than thirty years 
without once having connected himself with a crim- 



CONGRESS AND THE SUPREME COURT. 379 

inal case. He had been an ardent Democrat, but, 
of course, a member of the Supreme Court has no 
party political affiliations. Chief-Justice Fuller is 
seventy-four years of age, having been born within 
a few months of Justice Harlan. 

John Marshall Harlan has been a member of the 
Supreme Court for thirtj^ years, which is eleven 
years longer than any of his colleagues has served. 
He was an active leader in the Whig party of Ken- 
tucky before the Republican party was formed. He 
raised a Union regiment in the Civil War and was 
on the point of being gazetted brigadier when the 
death of his father prompted his resignation. He 
was a member of the Louisiana Commission that 
put Hayes in the White House and by that Presi- 
dent was appointed to the Supreme Bench. 

David Josiah Brewer was born, seventy years 
ago, at Smyrna, Asia Minor, where his father was 
stationed as a missionary. His mother was a sister 
of that famous quartet of Field brothers, one of 
whom preceded him in the Supreme Court. Kan- 
sas claims Justice Brewer and for many years be- 
fore he came to Washington he served that State 
as a judge of various courts. His present position 
is due to appointment by President Harrison in 
1889. 

The only Associate-Justice from a Confederate 
State is Edward Douglass White of Louisiana, who 
fought on the side of the South before he was 



380 WASHINGTON. 

twenty years of age. Justice White finished his 
education at Georgetown University, practised law 
in his native State and became a member of its Su- 
preme Court. He was afterwards sent to the United 
States Senate and soon secured recognition as one 
of the most able Democrats in that body. He was 
appointed to his present office thirteen years ago 
and is younger than most of his colleagues, having 
completed the sixty-second year of his life in No- 
vember, 1907. 

Rufus W. Peckham is the son of a celebrated 
New York Judge in whose office he received his le- 
gal training. He was a member of the Xew York 
Court of Appeals when, twelve years ago, his ap- 
pointment by President Cleveland to the Supreme 
Court of the United States w^as the occasion of an 
historic contest between the Senate and the Chief 
Executive. Justice Peckham is sixty-nine years of 
age and may this year, if he desires, retire on full 

pay. 

Joseph McKenna, of California, is the sole rep- 
resentative of the Par West in the Supreme Court. 
Justice McKenna was born in Philadelphia, sixty- 
four years ago, but went to his adoptive State when 
a boy. He served in Congress for four successive 
terms and resigned to become a judge of the United 
States Circuit Court. This position he gave up to 
enter President McKinley's Cabinet as Attorney- 



CONGKESS AND THE SUPKEME COUKT. 381 

General. He has served in his present capacity for 
ten years. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes bears a name that is fa- 
miliar wherever the English language is spoken. 
Although he did not embrace his father's profes- 
sions of medicine and literature, he inherited his 
father's spontaneous wit and humor. One month 
after graduation at 'Harvard, he entered the Union 
army as lieutenant and at the end of the War had 
several wounds and a colonelcy to his credit. x\fter 
practising law for a few years in Massachusetts, he 
became the editor of the American Law Keview 
and afterwards professor of law at his Alma Mater. 
He was a member of the Supreme Court of his 
State when President Roosevelt appointed him, 
five years ago, to his present position, in the sixty- 
first year of his age. 

President McKinley brought his friend and fel- 
low-townsman, William R. Day, into sudden promi- 
nence by including him in his first Cabinet. Justice 
Day is the son of a celebrated Ohio judge, under 
whom and at the University of Michigan he re- 
ceived his law education. His appointment to the 
Supreme Court of the United States in 1903, Avas 
by President Roosevelt. Justice Day is younger 
than any of his colleagues with the single exception 
of Justice Moody, having been born in 1819. 

William Henry Moody, like Justice Holmes, is 



382 WASHINGTON. 

of Massachusetts, and a graduate of Harvard. He 
has filled his present position for hardly more than 
a year and is the youngest member of the body in 
point of service as ^vell as in the matter of age, be- 
ing but fifty-four. Previous to his elevation to the 
Supreme bench, Justice Moody had served in four 
successive Congresses and had been Secretary of the 
Xavy and Attorney-General in President Roose- 
velt's Cabinet. 



CHAPTEE XYI. 

THE EXECUTIVE GOVEENMENT. 

The wonderful growth of this nation in the 
conrse of one hundred years is strikingly evidenced 
in the great expansion of its administrative ma- 
chinery. At the opening of the nineteenth cen- 
tury, there were five Departments in operation. 
Of these, the Treasury employed seventy-five per- 
sons. The combined forces of the State, War, 
i^avy, and Post-Office numbered no more than 
sixty-one, and four persons were employed in the 
office of the Attorney-General. There are now 
eight Departments, a number of independent bu- 
reaus and commissions, and an office force of thirty- 
five thousand in Washington alone. The adminis- 
trative business of the Government has increased 
enormously during the past decade and there are 
prospects of continued expansion in new directions. 
It is the tendency of the age to impose upon gov- 
ernment functions which our grandfathers never 
dreamed of associating with it. Thus the Admin- 
istration now exercises a wide control in matters of 
commerce and finance, labor and transportation. 

383 



384 WASHINGTON. 

It also operates with greatly extended scope in most 
of the matters that have always been recognized as 
within its purview. It enters upon new enter- 
prises of gigantic proportions, such as the Panama 
Canal, the reclamation of the arid and swamp land:^, 
and the improvement of inland waterways. And, 
in addition to the extensive and varied business 
entailed by all these utilities, is the work of gov- 
erning the outlying territories of Porto Rico and 
the Philippines, and of policing Cuba. 

The administrative government of the country is 
in tlie hands of the President and the nine heads 
of Departments who form his Cabinet and act as 
his advisers. Of these the Secretary of State is 
considered the senior and occupies in a sense a posi- 
tion analagous to that of tlie prime minister in a 
monarchical government. 

The '^ Department of Foreign Affairs " was or- 
ganized in 1781, witli Robert R. Livingston, of New 
York, as Secretary. The Department was under 
constant instructions from Congress and was not 
permitted to take any independent action. As a 
matter of fact, Congress managed the foreign rela- 
tions of the country, appointing committees, as occa- 
sion arose, to consider specific questions. It is 
both interesting and instructive to compare the re- 
ports of the recent " Committee on Departmental 
Alethods " and a Congressional committee ap- 



THE STATE DErAUTMENT. 385 

pointed in 1788 to investigate tlie condition of the 
'' Department of Foreign Affairs." Erom the lat- 
ter we learn that the Department occupied two 
rooms, one the Secretary's, the other that of his 
deputy and clerks. The daily transactions were 
entered in a minute book and subsequently copied 
into a journal. The letters to ministers and others 
abroad were entered in a book called the '' Book of 
Foreign Letters," such parts as required secrecy 
being in cipher. The domestic correspondence was 
entered in the " American Letter Book." The 
" Book of Reports " contained the Secretary's re- 
ports to Congress. There was also a book in which 
was recorded the passports issued to vessels, and a 
volume of " Foreign Commissions," besides a 
'' Book of Accounts " and one containing Acts of 
Congress relating to the Department. The papers 
of the old Committee of Foreign Affairs and the 
correspondence of our ministers abroad w^ere prop- 
erly taken care of. The office was open for busi- 
ness constantly from nine o'clock in the morning 
until six o'clock at night, and either the deputy or 
a clerk remained in the office while the others were 
at dinner. '' Upon the whole," the committee 
found, ''neatness, method, and perspicacity 
throughout the Department." 

Upon the assembling of the new Government un- 
der the Constitution, the first business taken up, 
25 



386 WASHINGTON. 

after tlic election of the President and Vice-Presi- 
dent, was that of providing execntive departments, 
that for foreign affairs being considered before any 
others. The bill which passed in CongTess a few 
months later created a Department much the same 
in duties as that already in existence and John 
Jay was continued at the head of it. A later Act 
of the same year, however, provided that thc5 
'' Executive department, denominated the Depart- 
ment of Foreign Affairs, shall hereafter be denomi- 
nated the Department of State, and the principal 
officer shall hereafter be called the Secretary of 
State." The secretary was required to receive 
and publish the laws of the United States ; to be 
the custodian of the seal of the United States; to 
authenticate copies of records and papers, and to 
receive all the records and papers of the office of 
the late Secretary of Congress, except such as re- 
lated to the Treasury and War Departments. The 
scope of the Department was thus greatly enlarged 
and it became the most important of the Govern- 
ment offices under the President. Almost imme- 
diately following this enlargement of the functions 
of the Department, Jefferson assumed charge of it 
and so became virtually the first Secretary of the 
Department as we have it. 

'^ From the beginning the Department of State 
Avas more closely connected with the President than 
any other Executive Department, Washington not 



THE STATE DEPARTMENT. 387 

only referred to it all official letters bearing upon 
its business, but made it the repository of the drafts 
of most of his letters. The volume of business of 
the Government rendered it possible at that period 
for the President to attend personally to matters 
which are now rarely, if ever, brought to his per- 
sonal attention. It w^as Jefferson's custom to con- 
sult his chief frequently. He sent him the rough 
drafts of his letters for approval or correction, and 
carried to him all communications of consequence. 
The foreign ministers to the United States were 
not permitted to correspond directly with the Presi- 
dent, but were required to address the Secretary 
of State. This rule had been laid down before 
Jefferson's appointment, when Washington de- 
clined direct correspondence with Moustier, the 
French Minister, and Moustier's successor, the 
notorious Genet, received forcible reminder of it 
in 1793." 

The Department in its early years had charge of 
a number of affairs that have since passed out of 
its hands. Among these were the business of the 
Territories, superintendence of the census, grant- 
ing of patents and copyrights, and several matters 
of a judicial character. 

The machinery of the Department of State, as at 
present constituted, is officially described as fol- 
lows : 

The Secretary of State is charged, under the 



388 WASHINGTON. 

President, with the duties appertaining to corre- 
spondence with the public ministers and the con- 
suls of the United States, and with the representa- 
tives of foreign powers accredited to the United 
States; and to negotiations of whatever character 
relating to tlie foreign affairs of the United States. 
He is also the medium of correspondence between 
the President and the chief executives of the sev- 
eral States of the United States ; he has the custody 
of the Great Seal of the United States, and counter- 
signs and affixes such seal to all executive proclama- 
tions, to various commissions, and to warrants for 
the extradition of fugitives from justice. He is 
regarded as the first in rank among the members 
of the Cabinet. He is also the custodian of the 
treaties made with foreign States, and of the laws 
of the United States. He grants and issues pass- 
ports, and exequaturs to foreign consuls in the 
United States are issued from his office. He pub- 
lishes the laws and resolutions of Congress, amend- 
ments to the Constitution, and proclamations de- 
claring the admission of new States to the Union. 
He is also charged with certain annual reports to 
Congress relating to commercial information re- 
ceived from diplomatic and consular officers of the 
United States. 

The Assistant Secretary of State becomes the 
Acting Secretary of State in the absence of the 
Secretary. Under the organization of the Depart- 



THE STATE DEPARTMENT. 389 

ment, the Assistant Secretary, Second Assistant Sec- 
retary, and Third Assistant Secretary are charged 
with the immediate supervision of all correspond- 
ence with the diplomatic and consular officers, and 
are intrusted with the preparation of the corre- 
spondence upon any questions arising in the course 
of public business that may be assigned to them 
by the Secretary. The Chief Clerk has general 
charge and supervision of the clerks and employees 
and of the business of the Department. 

When the Department of Foreign Affairs w^as 
first organized, it took possession of a small house 
in Philadelphia, at 13 South Sixth Street, leased 
from Peter Du Ponceau. When the Department 
moved with the Government to New York, in 1785, 
it found quarters at Faunce's Tavern, in the long 
room where Washington took farewell of his gen- 
erals at the close of the Revolutionary War. It 
remained here for more than three years and then 
moved to a house owned by Philip Livingston, on 
the west side of Broadway. Later it went into a 
house on the other side of the street almost opposite 
to Livingston's. 

Upon the return of the Government to Phila- 
delphia, the Department first took up its quarters 
on Market Street, about three blocks from the river, 
then on the southeast corner of Arch and Sixth 
Streets, next in North Alley, and finally at the 
northeast corner of Fifth and Chestnut Streets. 



390 WASHINGTON. 

In May, 1801, the offices of the Department were 
estahlished in the large brick building on Seven- 
teenth Street, opposite G, in Washington. Here 
they remained until the close of 1819, save for an 
interval of about eighteen months, when they occu- 
pied a building on the south side of G Street, near 
Eighteenth, pending the repair of the former build- 
ing which had been severely damaged by the Briti h 
troops in the invasion of 1811. 

In January, 1820, the offices were moved to the 
corner of Fifteenth Street and Pennsylvania Ave- 
nue, the site now covered by the north wing of the 
Treasury Building, and there the Department re- 
mained until October, 1866, when it leased the 
premises then belonging, as now, to the Washing- 
ton Orphan Asylum, on Fourteenth Street, near S 
Street. It remained there until July, 1875, when 
it was removed to its present quarters, Avliich con- 
stitute the south wing of the State, War, and Xavy 
Building. 

The first Congress under the Constitution passed 
an Act, in 1781), establishing the Department of 
the Treasury, for the transaction of all the finan- 
cial business of the Government which had pre- 
viously been intrusted to commissioners. Alexander 
Hamilton was its first Secretary. 

When the Government took up its seat in Wash- 
ington, the only building ready for administrative 



THE TEEASUKY DEPARTMENT. 391 

purposes was that designed for the use of the Treas- 
ury, which occupied a site on the south front of the 
present edifice. It was a plain, two-storied struc- 
ture of brick and stone, with an attic and basement, 
and contained thirty rooms. This building was 
destroyed by fire in 1833, and the ruins were re- 
moved to permit of the erection of a new structure, 
which is the central portion of the present edifice. 
The original building was in exterior plan the 
counterpart of that subsequently erected for the 
State Department on the site of the present north 
front of the Treasury building, and which was not 
removed until after the Civil War. 

To the building completed by Robert Mills in 
1811, it was found necessary fifteen years later to 
add wings and these, designed by Thomas U. Wal- 
ter, were finished in 18(39, at which time the accu- 
mulated cost of the building had amounted to seven 
millions. Although severely simple in style and 
not advantageously placed, it is one of the most 
imposing public buildings at the capital. It has, 
despite its enormous proportions and comparatively 
recent construction, already become too small to 
accommodate the rapidly increasing business of the 
Department. 

The Secretary of the Treasury is charged by the 
law with the management of the national finances. 
lie prepares plans for the improvement of the reve- 
nue and for the support of the public credit ; super- 



392 WASHINGTON. 

intends the collection of the revenue, and directs 
the forms of keeping and rendering the public ac- 
counts and of making returns; grants Avarrants for 
all moneys drawn from the Treasury in pursuance 
of appropriations made by law, and for the pay- 
ment of moneys into the Treasury; and annually 
submits to Congress estimates of the probable rev- 
enues and disbursements of the Government. He 
also controls the construction of public buildings; 
the coinage and printing of money ; the admin- 
istration of the Life-Saving, Revenue-Cutter, and 
the Public Health and Marine Hospital branches 
of the public service, and furnishes generally such 
information as may be required by either branch 
of Congress on all matters pertaining to the fore- 
going. 

The routine work of the Secretary's Office is 
transacted in the offices of the Supervising Archi- 
tect, Director of the Mint, Director of Engraving 
and Printing, Surgeon-General of the Public 
Health and Marine Hospital Service, General 
Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service and in 
the following divisions : Bookkeeping and war- 
rants, appointments, customs, public moneys, loans 
and currency, revenue cutter stationery, printing, 
mails and files, special agents and miscellaneous. 

After the Capitol, there is no place in Washing- 
ton that offers greater attractions to the casual 
sight-seer than the Treasury. The numerous daily 



THE TREASUKY DEPAKTMENT. 393 

visitors appear to find a peculiar pleasure in merely 
witnessing the payment of large sums in the Cash 
Eoom, or of handling a bundle of redeemed and 
worthless notes in the vaults. There is, however, 
a great deal of interest to be seen in the vast build- 
ing and in the subsidiary building of the Bureau 
of Printing and Engraving. The Secret Service 
quarters used to be an important point in the guides' 
itinerary when that division maintained a some- 
what sensational exhibit of portraits of celebrated 
counterfeiters, together with specimens of their 
tools and handiwork. Chief Wilkie wisely sup- 
pressed this display and the place is now hardly 
distinguishable from an ordinary business office. 

The Treasury is carefully guarded. There is a 
regular force of something like seventy-five w^atch- 
men inside the building. These, who are all hon- 
orably discharged men from the Army and Xavy, 
maintain a constant patrol, day and nighty The 
building is also watched on the outside and in the 
guard-room at the main entrance is a force always 
ready to respond to a call. The Captain of the 
Watch can communicate instantly with the Chief 
of Police, and with Port Myer. Arms are stored 
in many parts of the building, so that, in case of 
necessity, a thousand or more of the employees 
could be armed in ten minutes. The Captain can 
be summoned by electric call to all the important 
rooms of the building. At six o'clock the building 



394 WASHINGTON. 

is cleared of everyone but the watch and after that 
hour only three persons can gain admittance — 
the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the latter's Chief 
Clerk. 

Shortly before the removal of the Government 
to Washinti'ton, the Commissioners in charge of the 
public works in the District began the construction 
of a building similar in size and appearance to the 
Treasury, near the southwest corner of the White 
House grounds. It was first known as the War 
Office and in later years as the Xavy Department 
building. Pending its completion, the War De- 
partment leased the three-storj- house on the south 
side of Pennsylvania Avenue, between Twenty- 
first and Twenty-second Streets, almost opposite the 
tavern kept by W^illiam O'lNeil, the father of the 
famous '^ Peggy." The Department had been but 
a short while in possession of these quarters when 
a fire broke out and destroyed a large part of the 
records. This was in Xovember, 1800, and when, 
in the following Jannary, a fire — wliich, however, 
did little damage, — occurred in the Treasury, 
Mathew Lyon, son of a member of Congress and 
editor of the Cahinct, in the columns of that paper 
charged the Federalists with having instigated the 
setting fire to the public offices Avith the purpose 
of destroying evidences of their maladministration. 

Tlie present State, War and Navy building cov- 



THE WAR DEPARTMENT. 395 

ers the site of the okl War Office. It is the finest 
office bnilding in Washington and probably the 
largest in the world. It has, however, been in- 
capable for some years past, of adequately accom- 
modating the three Departments which share it and 
i^ not now, in fact, more than large enough for one 
of them. 

The Secretary of War has charge of all mat- 
ters pertaining to the support, transportation and 
maintenance of the Army. He also has supervision 
of the United States Military Academy at West 
Point and of military education in the Army, of 
the Board of Ordinance and Fortification, of the 
various battle-field commissions, and of the pub- 
lication of the official records of the War of the 
Rebellion. 

He has charge of all matters relating to national 
defense and seacoast fortifications, army ordinance, 
river and harbor improvements, the prevention of 
obstructions to navigation, and the establishment 
of harbor lines, and all plans and locations of 
bridges authorized bv Con2:ress to be constructed 
over the navigable waters of the United States re- 
quire his approval. He also has charge of the es- 
tablishment or abandonment of military posts, and 
of all matters relating to leases, revocable licenses, 
and all other privileges upon lands under the con- 
trol of the War Department. 

These are very extensive duties but, during the 



396 WASHINGTON. 

present Administration, very onerous additions 
have been made to tliem from time to time. To 
Secretary Taft Avas intrusted the great task of or- 
ganizing the Panama Canal enterprise and the deli- 
cate and difficult one of restoring order in Cuba. 
Attached to the War Office is the Bureau of Insular 
Affairs, to which is assigned all matters pertain- 
ing to the civil government in the island possessions 
of the United States, the Philippine Islands being 
the only ones so subject at the present time. 

The Attorney-General, who is at the head of the 
Department of Justice, is the chief law officer of 
the Government. He represents the United States 
in all matters involving legal questions. He ex- 
tends advice and opinion when called upon to the 
President, or the heads of other Executive Depart- 
ments, on questions of law arising in the admin- 
istration of their respective offices. He appears 
for the Government in the Supreme Court in cases 
of special importance. He exercises a general 
superintendence and direction over United States 
attorneys and marshals in all judicial districts in 
the United States and Territories, and provides 
special counsel for the United States whenever re- 
quired by any Department of the Government. 

The Solicitor-General assists the Attorney-Gen- 
eral in the performance of his general duties and, 
by special provision of law, in case of a vacancy 



THE DEPAETMENT OF JUSTICE. 397 

in the office of Attornev-General, or his absence or 
inability, exercises all those duties. Under the 
direction of the Attorney-General, he has charge of 
the business of the Government in the Supreme 
Court, and is assisted in the preparation and argu- 
ment of cases therein by the Assistant Attorneys- 
General. Although it is seldom done, the Solicitor- 
General may, if the Attorney-General think fit, b3 
sent to attend to the interests of the United States 
in any court, or elsewhere. 

In addition to the Assistant Attorneys-General, 
there are several Solicitors whose duties are to look 
after the interests of certain specified Departments. 
For instance, the Solicitor for the Department of 
State, is the chief law oflicer of that Department, 
and advises the Secretary upon questions of mu- 
nicipal and international law, passes upon claims 
of citizens of the United States against foreign gov- 
ernments, upon applications for the extradition of 
criminals and various other matters. The Solici- 
tor for the Treasury takes C(:)gnizance of all frauds 
on the customs revenue, he has supervision of the 
collection of certain moneys due the United States. 
As the law officer of the Treasury, many matters are 
referred to him growing out of the customs, bank- 
ing, navigation, and registry laws, and so on. 

The Post-Office Department is a branch of the 
Government that comes more closely in touch with 



398 WASHIXGTON. 

the people than any other and is, probably, the one 
upon the efficiency of which their general wel- 
fare and prosperity are most dependable. It may 
also be described as the Department which, through 
its countless ramifications transacts the greatest vol- 
mne of business. 

Consider the enormous extent of the yearly 
operations of the Post-Office Department of to-day 
and think of Abraham Bradley writing with satis- 
faction to his chief from Washington in June, 1800, 
that he has leased a three-story house that will 
amply accommodate the General Post-Office, the 
Washington office, the Postmaster-General's office, 
besides housing his entire family. This house 
stood where the' south wing of the building, until 
recent years occupied by the General Post-Office, 
was erected. 

The Postmaster-General has the direction and 
management of tlie Post-Office Department. He 
appoints all officers and employees of the Depart- 
ment, except the four Assistant Postmasters-Gen- 
eral and the purchasing agent, who are appointed 
by the President, l)y and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate. The Postmaster-General ap- 
points all postmasters whose compensation does not 
exceed one thousand dollars, higher appointments 
being made by the President. The head of the 
Department makes postal treaties with foreign gov- 
ernments, by and with the consent of the President, 



THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. 399 

awards and executes contracts, and directs the man- 
agement of the d<miestic and foreign mail service. 

Benjamin Franklin, who has been called '' the 
father of our post-office/' was appointed Postmaster- 
General by the Continental Congress and authorized 
to establish offices from Maine to Georgia. In 
1789, Washington made Samuel Osgood, of Massa- 
chusetts, the first Postmaster-General of the United 
States. At that time there were but seventy-five 
post-offices in operation. The rate of postage was 
six cents for thirty miles and up to twenty-five 
cents for four hundred and fifty miles. To-day 
there are, in the United States, upwards of sixty- 
two thousand post-offices and an equal number of 
postmasters. About one thousand million letters 
and postal cards are carried every month and the 
losses and errors are an infinitesimal proportion. 
The expenditures of the Department in 1906 were 
$178,449,776.89 and the receipts $167,932,782.95. 
The average cost of the seiwice to our ninety mil- 
lions of people was something less than twenty cents 
for the year. 

The history of the rural service is especially in- 
teresting. The first route was established in the 
autumn of 1806, being in the nature of an experi- 
ment. During that fiscal year, in which the postal 
deficit was eleven and a half millions, fifteen thou- 
sand were expended upon rural delivery. For the 
fiscal year which ended June 30, 1907, the expendi- 



400 WASHINGTON. 

tTires for rural delivery were twenty-seven million 
dollars, and the postal deficit showed a decrease as 
compared with that of 1897 of about four and a 
half million dollars, the total being about seven 
millions. This seems to be indisputable evidence 
that whilst the expenses incurred in the rural de- 
livery are enormous, the system increases the re- 
ceipts sufficiently to show a net profit, aside from 
which its beneficial effects are beyond computation 
in dollars and cents. The isolation of the remote 
districts of our country has been broken ; the peo- 
ple who inhabit them are brought into daily touch 
with the world ; they get the current news where 
they formerly never received it until a week or 
more old ; as an educational and enlightening 
agency its influence can not be estimated. 

The present administration of the Post-Office bids 
fair to be a notable one, for it is highly probable 
that it will effect several extensive and important 
improvements of the service, including the intro- 
duction of a parcels post system and post-office sav- 
ings banks. 



CHAPTEK XVII. 

THE EXECUTIVE GOVEKNMENT. 

Although the revolting colonies had a very 
creditable fleet during the Revolution, it was under 
the direction of a committee of the Continental 
Congress, and the Kavy Department was not or- 
ganized until nine years after the conclusion of the 
federal compact. In the earliest years of the Gov- 
ernment, naval aifairs were intrusted to the Sec- 
retary of War but no attempt was made to create a 
fighting force until 1791, when the difficulties 
growing out of the depredations of Algerian pirates 
prompted Congress to order the construction of six 
frigates. The strongest influence in the establish- 
ment of our :N^avy was, however, that of George 
Washington. A large and prosperous merchant 
marine was rapidly developing, when he impressed 
upon both branches of Congress the necessity of pro- 
tecting it with a naval force, or, to use his own 
words : " To an active external commerce the pro- 
tection of a naval force is indispensable . . . 
to secure respect to a neutral flag requires a naval 
26 401 



402 WASHINGTON. 

force, organized and ready to vindicate it from in- 
sult or aggi'ession." 

The Navy Department ^vas finally orgainzed in 
1798, and almost immediately afterward, the Ma- 
rine Corps was created. The new Department 
was sadly neglected under the early Presidents, 
and the glory it won in the War of 1812 was 
due entirely to personnel and despite inferior shii)S 
and equipment. One hundred years have passed, 
and the United States now possesses a Xavy second 
in fighting strength only to that of Great Britain. 
The six frigates and the handful of half-trained 
sailors have expanded into a force of three hun- 
dred vessels and forty thousand officers and men. 

Under the direction of the Secretary and As- 
sistant Secretary of the Navy are eight great 
bureaus, each charged with highly important work 
and each headed by an officer especially qualified 
by experience for the particular duties assigned to 
him. Of these executive divisions, the bureau of 
Navigation is admittedly the most important and 
the charge of it is one of the highest honors open 
to the service. It has jurisdiction of the personnel 
of the Navy, including the Naval Academy at An- 
napolis, and directs the recruiting and training of 
the force. Through this bureau the movements of 
the ships are controlled and orders to the officers 
issued. It keeps the records of the squadrons. 



THE NAVY DEPAKTMENT. 403 

ships, officers, and men, and performs a variety of 
minor administrative duties. 

The Bureau of Construction and Repair, as its 
name implies, is responsible for the proper con- 
struction and maintenance of the ships and what a 
landsman might call their fixtures, except for the 
steam machinery and armament, which are in the 
hands of the bureaus of Steam Engineering and 
Ordnance, respectively. The Bureau of Equip- 
ment furnishes the distinctive nautical fittings, 
such as flags, sails, anchors, instruments, search- 
lights, and a hundred other items. The navy- 
yards, naval stations and dry docks are in the care 
of the Bureau of Yards and Docks. The Bureau 
of Medicine and Surgery attends to the health of 
the personnel ashore and afloat, and manages the 
various naval hospitals. The Bureau of Supplies 
and Accounts purchases the greater part of the 
supplies needed for the ]N"avy. 

In addition to these eight bureaus, performing 
the most important work of the Navy Department, 
there are several other branches. The Judge Ad- 
vocate General, who maintains an extensive office 
for the conduct of his business, is the legal adviser 
of the Department and the director of prosecutions 
of all offenders against naval law and regulations. 
The Commandant of the Marine Corps has a sep- 
arate jurisdiction which he exercises subject to 



404 WASHINGTON. 

responsibility to the Secretary of the Navy. High- 
ly important functions of an advisory nature are 
exercised by the General Board vhich is composed 
of officers of the greatest ability and the most 
extensive experience, with Admiral Dewey at its 
head. The Board is intrusted with the prepara- 
tion of naval campaigns, contemplating the co- 
operation of our military forces and coast defense 
agencies. It is looked to for advice as to the best 
distribution of the fleet, its preparation for, and 
maintenance in war, the type and number of the 
ships that should compose it and the proper loca- 
tion and equipment of coaling and supply stations. 
Each year the Secretary of the Navy, after hav- 
ing taken counsel Avith the General Board and the 
various bureau chiefs, recommends to Congress 
certain specific extensions of our naval force. He 
states how many and what kind of ships we should, 
in his opinion, commence to build, and very often 
submits designs. Following the authorization of 
Congress, the proper bureaus, acting in conjunc- 
tion, prepare detailed plans. Then the private 
shipyards of the country and the armor-plate man- 
ufacturers are invited to make proposals for the 
material and construction. Meanwhile, and at any 
stage of the process of building, Congress may 
reconsider the plans and alter them. The control 
of Congress in this exhaustive degree is the weak- 
est feature of our naval system and places us at a 



THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 405 

distinct disadvantage with the European powers, 
where the legislative body satisfies itself with vot- 
ing the money for naval construction without ask- 
ing for details of the proposed expenditure. Our 
plans are, of course, patent to the world, but this 
is not the worst consequence of the interference of 
Congress in the constructive work. It is the direct 
cause of the lack of homogeneity in our naval force 
and also the cause of delays. Great Britain, Ger- 
many, or France, can turn out a vessel of war, 
especially a battleship, in much shorter time than 
we require for the construction of a similar ship. 
They build their vessels in classes, the component 
members of which are practically counterparts of 
one another, with advantages that are obvious. 

The Department of the Interior was created by 
Act of Congress in 1849, with extensive functions 
which have, liowever, been greatly enlarged in re- 
cent years. The organic act provided that the 
Secretary of the Interior should " exercise and per- 
form all the acts of supervision and appeal in re- 
gard to the office of Commissioner of Patents,'' then 
exercised by the Secretary of State; that he should 
" perform all the duties in relation to the General 
Land Office," then discharged by the Secretary of 
the Treasury ; that he should '' exercise the super- 
visory and appellate powers," then reposed in the 
Secretary of War, ^' in relation to all the acts of 



406 WASHINGTON. 

the Commissioner of Indian Affairs;" that he 
should exercise the supervisory and appellate pow- 
ers," then exercised by the Secretaries of the War 
and Navy Departments, '^ in relation to all the acts 
of the Commissioner of Patents ; " that he should 
assume the then authority of the '' Secretary of 
State in relation to all acts of marshals and others 
in taking and returning the Census of the United 
States ; " that to him should be transferred the 
authority of the Secretary of the Treasury '' over 
the lead and other mines of the United States, and 
over the accounts of the agents thereof." The nu- 
merous interests confided to the Secretary of the 
Interior have not only enormously expanded since 
that time but additional authority and duties have 
been conferred upon him and he now has in his 
Department several bureaus which individually en- 
tail a greater amount of business than that of the 
entire Department at the time of its creation. 

The present functions of the Secretary of the 
Interior are thus officially described : He is charged 
with the supervision of public business relating to 
patents for inventions ; pensions and bounty lands ; 
the public lands and surveys; the Indians; rail- 
roads ; the Geological Survey ; the Hot Springs 
Reservation, Arkansas; Yellowstone National 
Park, Wyoming, and the Yosemite, Sequoia, and 
General Grant parks, California; forest reserva- 
tions; distribution of appropriations for agricul- 



THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 407 

tiiral and mechanical colleges in the States and Ter- 
ritories ; the custody and distribution of certain 
public documents; and supervision of certain hos- 
pitals and eleemosynary institutions in the District 
of Columbia. He is also charged with the exercise 
of certain powers and duties in relation to the Ter- 
ritories of the United States. 

An enormous and highly important business is 
transacted by the Land Office, which has recently 
been thoroughly reorganized and placed in charge 
of a new Commissioner. The Geological Survey is 
an extensive division performing the most valua- 
ble services to the country and the world at large. 
It embraced, until recently, the Reclamation Ser\^- 
ice. That bureau is now segregated and its splen- 
did work of transforming the arid lands of the 
West into cultivable areas is being extensively car- 
ried on. It is probable that when the Government 
undertakes, as it surely will at no distant date, the 
vast enterprise of reclaiming the swamp lands of 
the country, the task will be committed to the 
Reclamation Service. The project of improving 
our inland waterways, to which the Administration 
is practically pledged, will necessitate the forma- 
tion of another large bureau and this will, in all 
likelihood be added to the Interior Department. 

'Next to the Post-Office, the Agricultural Depart- 
ment is that in which the general public is most 



408 WASHINGTON. 

intimately interested. President Washington sug- 
gested the creation of an administrative branch of 
the Government to take care of the interests of 
the farmers, and Franklin set the example, to rep- 
resentatives of America abroad, of sending home 
seeds and cuttings. In 1839, the practice had be- 
come so extensive that Henry L. Ellsworth, of Con- 
necticut, induced Congress to make an experi- 
mental appropriation for the distribution of the ar- 
ticles thus acquired and for the publication of 
agricultural statistics. The trial was successful 
and the work has been maintained ever since. 

In his message to Congress, December 7, 1796, 
which was full of important suggestion, Washing- 
ton said : ^' In proportion as nations advance in 
population the cultivation of the soil becomes more 
and more an object of public patronage. Institu- 
tions grow up supported by the public purse. 
. . . Among the means Avhich have been em- 
ployed to this end none have been attended with 
greater success than the establishment of boards 
composed of public characters charged with col- 
lecting and diffusing information, and enabled by 
premiums and small pecuniary aid to encourage 
and assist a spirit of discovery and improvement. 
This, species of establishment contributes doubly to 
the increase of improvements by stimulating to en- 
terprise and experiment and by drawing to a com- 
uion center the results evervwhere of individual 



THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. 409 

skill and observation and spreading them thence 
over the whole nation." 

A bill for the establishment of such a society 
was introduced in 1797, but, although its purpose 
had the approval of public men generally, it failed 
on account of its association with a recommenda- 
tion for a military academy. A similar attempt 
was made w^ithout success in 1817. ^leanwhile, 
American consuls abroad continued to send to the 
United States, seeds, cuttings, sheep, hogs, silk-worm 
eggs, etc., wdth excellent results. Congress also au- 
thorized the publication of some useful documents 
relating to agriculture and kindred subjects. 

The Government aid in distribution which had 
been begun in 1839 was systematically continued 
through the office of the Commissioner of Patents, 
the funds of that office being drawn upon for the 
necessary expenditures after the first appropriation 
by Congress. In 1862, Congress created a separate 
Department of Agriculture, of which the first Com- 
missioner was Isaac Newton, who had been chief 
of the section of agriculture in the Patent Office. 
It is noteworthy that the first law providing for 
the establishment of agricultural colleges was 
passed in the same year. 

During the four years of Commissioner N'ew- 
ton's service the nucleus of the present organiza- 
tion was formed, the inception of the weather 
service was effected, the cultivation of beet-sugar 



410 WASHINGTON. 

was suggested and the growing of cotton was stim- 
ulated. Horace Capron, the second Commissioner 
of Agriculture, was, like his predecessor, a practi- 
cal farmer of wide experience and extraordinary 
attainments. During his term, which expired in 
1871, the main building of the Department was 
completed and occupied, and the Division of botany 
was created, at the suggestion of Professor Henry, 
of the Smithsonian Institution. 

Commissioner Watts found in operation the Di- 
visions of Garden and Grounds, Chemistry, Ento- 
mology, Statistics, and Botanj-. He was the first 
to take a special interest in the timber wealth of 
the country, and secured an appropriation for a 
forestry investigation in which Franklin B. Hough, 
of Pennsylvania, was employed as special agent. 
This was the beginning of the Forestry Division 
which was fully organized several years later. 
Commissioner Le Due succeeded to the direction of 
the Department in 1877. He made extensive in- 
vestigation into the diseases of domestic animals 
and the habits of insects, thus paving the way for 
two of the subsequent divisions. He also gave con- 
siderable attention to the subject of irrigation. 
Under Commissioner Loring, who assumed office 
in 1881, the Bureau of Animal Industry was estab- 
lished and the Division of Statistics, reorganized 
with a view to more extensive crop reports. Com- 
missioner Colnian, who was appointed by President 



THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. 411 

Cleveland, in 1885, greatly enlarged the sphere of 
the Department, adding several important di- 
visions. Lender his administration it became one 
of the Executive Departments of the Government 
in 1889, and he was raised to the position of first 
Secretary of Agriculture. The law providing for 
the establishment of experiment stations in various 
States was passed at this time and the Office of Ex- 
periment Stations was added to the branches of 
the Department. During Secretary Colman's in- 
cumbency, too, the Division of Pomology and the 
Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy were es- 
tablished and the section of Vegetable Pathology 
^vas formed in the Division of Botany. 

Secretary of Agriculture, Jeremiah Rusk, took 
his place in President Harrison's Cabinet, in 1889. 
The new head of the Department reorganized it, 
dividing the work into two main classes : Execu- 
tive, under the immediate charge of the Secretary ; 
and scientific, under the Assistant Secretary, Ed- 
win Willits, that office having just then been cre- 
ated. Secretary Rusk urged the advisability of 
placing the information gathered by the Depart- 
ment more widely in the possession of farmers and 
others interested and established, with this object, 
the Division of Records and Editing, now the Di- 
vision of Publications, under George W. Hill, its 
present chief. This division began the publication 
of the Farmers' Bulletins, w^hich have since become 



412 WASHINGTON. 

so popular. Several of these Lave run over seven 
hundred thousand in their distribution and one 
over a million. The Weather Bureau was estab- 
lished as a part of the Department service in 1891 
by transfer of the work, with men, buiUlings, and 
apparatus, from the War Department. 

J. Sterling Morton became Secretary of Agri- 
culture in 1893, and during his administration 
the number of publications issued, which had in- 
creased three hundred per cent, in Secretary Rusk's 
time, again increased over two hundred per 
cent. Secretary Morton created the important Di- 
vision of Soils and established the Office of Road 
Inquiry. Secretary Morton was strongly opposed 
to the distribution of seeds, and recommended that 
the practice be abandoned. He failed in this, but 
succeeded in changing the method of distribution 
so that the packages, instead of being despatched 
from Washington, were sent from the warehouses 
of the seedmen holding the contracts to supply 
them. 

James Wilson, of Iowa, the Present Secretary of 
Agriculture, has held the position for more than 
ten years. Congress has shown its appreciation of 
his services by constantly increasing appropriations 
which have made possible a great extension of the 
activities of the Department. The appropriation 
for the fiscal year ending eTune 30, 1907, Avas nearly 
ten millions as against somewhat less than two and 



THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. 413 

a half millions for that which ended June 30, 1807, 
while the number of employees on July 1, 1!)00, 
was 6,242, against 2,043 on July 1, 1S07. 

Very notable changes have been made within the 
Department of Agriculture since 1897. The nat- 
urally allied services of plant-disease and plant- 
breeding investigations, botanical investigations, po- 
mological investigations, horticultural investiga- 
tions, and seed and plant testing and distribution 
were brought into a well-proportioned unity in 
1900 as the Bureau of Plant Industry, and to these 
lines several kindred branches of work have been 
added. 

The Bureau of Forestry was about the same time 
organized from the division of the same name, and, 
under Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot, has grown 
into the present Forest Service, with its enonuous 
interests and splendid utilities. Several other di- 
visions have, on account of their increased activ- 
ities, been reorganized on the bureau basis. 

Secretary Wilson has encouraged the introduc- 
tion of several important new industries — notably 
beet-sugar, — and has aided the improvement of 
methods in others. His expressed policy is to 
'^ encourage the introduction of what will enable 
our people to diversify their crops and keep at home 
money that is now sent abroad to buy what the 
United States should produce." 

The Department of Agriculture up to May 1, 



414 WASHINGTON. 

1906, cost the people of the United States, all told, 
slightly more than sixty millions of dollars, or con- 
siderably less than one million and a half a year 
on the average. Whilst it is impossible to make 
anything like a definite statement of the return to 
the public for this outlay, the services of the Agri- 
cultural Department are more susceptible of being 
measured in actual money value. 

About the time the Department began its work, 
it was necessary to import considerable quantities 
of agricultural products. This was partly due to 
bad crops, but also largely to careless and ignorant 
methods of culture. Fertilizers were little known, 
barnyard manure was still considered in most places 
a nuisance to be got rid of, and rotation of crops 
was practised to only a very limited extent. Plant- 
ing according to the phases of the moon Avas in 
vogue in many parts of the country. 

As an indication of improved cultivation, we 
may take the figures of corn and wheat. In 18o9 
the production of the former w^as twenty-three 
bushels for each person in the United States ; in 
IS 99 it was thirty-four bushels. A comparison of 
the production of w^heat at different periods of the 
past seventy years shows similar results which must 
by inference be largely attributed to the aid ren- 
dered to our fathers by the Department. 

Through its Division of Statistics the Department 
aims to place in the hands of farmers such informa- 



COMMERCE AND LABOR DEPARTMENT 415 

tion as will enable them to estimate wisely the 
value of their crops and to avoid deception and loss 
from speculative information spread abroad in the 
interests of buyers. Through the bureau of Ani- 
mal Industry it not only seeks to discover the causes 
and remedies of animal diseases, but also to main- 
tain measures of control and prevention that Avill 
hinder the spread of contagion. Further, the 
diseases of plants are the study of one division, and 
injurious insects receive the attention of another. 
Also, the introduction of new and valuable econom- 
ic plants has been a most important feature of the 
Department's "work, and many improved varieties 
have resulted from its efforts. 

Tn that first comprehensive message to Congress, 
which has been referred to more than once in this 
chapter, Washington said : " The advancement of 
agriculture, commerce and manufactures by all 
proper means will not, I trust, need recommenda- 
tion." Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the 
Treasury, gave special consideration to the commerce 
and manufactures of the country, and recommend- 
ed that a board be established for promoting arts, 
agriculture, manufactures, and commerce. Al- 
though the need of an organization especially de- 
voted to the commercial and industrial interests of 
the country was widely recognized at this and suc- 
ceeding periods, and its establishment frequently 



416 WASHINGTON. 

mooted, the idea only crystallized with the organ- 
ization of the Department of Commerce and La- 
bor, following the passage of an Act authorizing it 
in 1902. The first Secretary was George B. Cor- 
telyon ; who in a public speech declared that : ^' Xo 
other Department has a wdder field, if the jnst ex- 
pectations of the framers of the legislation are 
realized. 'None will have closer relations with the 
people or greater opportunities for effective work." 
The Secretary of Commerce and Labor is charged 
with the work of promoting the commerce of the 
United States, and its mining, manufacturing, ship- 
ping, fishery, transportation, and labor interests. 
His duties also comprise the investigation of the 
organization and management of corporations (ex- 
cept railroads) engaged in interstate commerce; the 
gathering and publication of information regard- 
inii*- labor interests and labor controversies in this 
and other countries ; the administration of the 
Light-House Service, and the aid and protection of 
shipping thereby ; the taking of the census, and the 
collection and publication of statistical information 
connected therewith; the making of coast and 
geodetic surveys ; the collecting of statistics relating 
to domestic and foreign commerce ; the inspection of 
steamboats, and the enforcement of laws relating 
thereto for the protection of life and pro])(»rty ; the 
supervision of the fisheries as administered by the 
Government ; the supervision and control of the 



INTER-STATE COMMERCE COMMISSION. 417 

Alaskan fur-seal, salniuu, and other fisheries ; the 
jurisdiction over merchant vessels, their registry, 
licensing, measurement, entry, clearance, transfers, 
movement of their cargoes and passengers, and laws 
relating thereto, and to seamen of the United States ; 
the supervision of the immigration of aliens, and 
the enforcement of the laws relating thereto, and 
to the exclusion of Chinese; the custody, construc- 
tion, maintenance, and application of standards of 
weights and measurements ; and the gathering and 
supplying of information regarding industries and 
markets for the fostering of manufacturing, lie 
has power to call upon other Departments for sta- 
tistical data obtained by them. 

The new Department is much more extensive 
than the public in general, perhaps, realizes. It 
comprises a number of large bureaus performing a 
vast amount of work, such as the Bureaus of Cor- 
porations, Manufactures, Census, Labor, Immigra- 
tion, Navigation, etc. 

The Inter-State Commerce Commission was cre- 
ated by an Act of 1887, for the purpose of inquiring 
into the management of the business of all common 
carriers wdio are subject to the provisions of tlie 
legislation in question. These are all which are 
^' engaged in the transportation of passengers or 
property wholly by railroad, or partly by railroad 
and partly by water, Avhen both are used under a 
27 



418 WASHINGTON. 

coinniou control, management, or arrangement, for 
a continuous passage or shipment, from one State 
or Territory of the United States or the District of 
Cohimbia to any other State or Territory of the 
United States or the District of Columbia, or from 
any }dace in the United States to an adjacent for- 
eign country, or from any phice in the United States 
through a foreign country to any other place in the 
United States, and also in the transportation in like 
manner of property shipped from any place in 
the United States to a foreign country and carried 
from such place to a port of transhipment, or 
shipped from a foreign country to any place in the 
United States and carried to such place from a port 
of entry either in the United States or an adjacent 
country." 

It has jurisdiction to inquire into and report 
upon the reasonableness of rates on interstate traf- 
fic, to decide questions of unjust discrimination and 
of undue preference, to prescribe the publicity to 
be given to joint tariffs, and to institute and carry 
on proceedings for the enforcement of the provisions 
of the law. It has power to call for reports, to 
require the attendance of witnesses and the produc- 
tion of books and papers, to hear conqdaints of a 
violation of the act made against any such carrier, 
and to determine what reparation shall be made 
to a party wronged ; to institute inquiries on its own 
motion or at the request of State railroul commis- 



THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION. 419 

sions, and to report thereon; and it is required to 
make an annual report, which shall be transmitted 
to Congress. 

It is also empowered, in special cases, to author- 
ize any such common carrier to charge less for a 
longer distance than for a shorter over the same line, 
and to prescribe the extent to which the carrier may 
be relieved from the " long and short haul clause " 
of said act. Further powers were conferred upon 
the Commission and additional duties imposed by 
laws passed subsequent to its creation. Such are, 
the Elkins act, relating to rebates; the act of 1893, 
termed the " Safety Appliance Act ;" and the law 
of 1898, styled the '^ Arbitration Act," which re- 
quires the Chairman of the Inter-state Commerce 
Commission and the Commissioner of Labor to use 
their best efforts, by mediation and conciliation, to 
settle controversies between railroad companies and 
their employees. 

The Department of Commerce and Labor is at 
present under the disadvantage of having its nu- 
merous branches widely scattered about the capital, 
for the most part, in leased buildings. It will 
probably be the first Department to be provided for 
when the improvements contemplated on the south 
side of Pennsylvania Avenue are carried into effect. 

The Civil Service Commission is composed of 
three Commissioners, not more than two of whom 



420 WASHINGTON. 

shall be adherents of the same political party, whose 
dntj it is to aid the President as he may request in 
preparing suitable rules for carrying the ^' Civil 
Service Act " into eifect. The act requires that the 
rules shall provide, among other things, for open 
competitive examinations for testing the fitness of 
applicants for the classified service, the making of 
appointments from among those passing with high- 
est grades, an apportionment of appointments in the 
Departments at Washington among the States and 
Territories, a period of probation before appoint- 
ment, and the prohibition of the use of official au- 
thority to coerce the political action of any person 
or body. The act also provides for investigations 
touching the enforcement of the rules, and forbids, 
under penalty of fine or imprisonment, or both, the 
solicitation by any person in the service of the 
United States of contributions to be used for po- 
litical purposes from persons of such service, or 
the collection of such contributions by any person in 
a Government building. 

There are about three hundred thousand positions 
in the executive civil service, of which somewhat 
more than half are classified subject either to com- 
petitive examination under the civil service rules or 
to a merit system governing appointments at navy- 
yards. Tn tlio latter class are about sixteen thou- 
sand mechanics and skilled workmen. The total 
expenditure for salaries in the executive civil serv- 



THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION. 421 

ice is about two hundred niillion^^ of dollars. Per- 
sons merely employed as laborers or workmen and 
persons nominated for confirmation by the Senate 
are exempted from the requirements of classifica- 
tion. Within these limits certain classes of posi- 
tions are excepted from examination, among them 
being employees at post-offices not having free de- 
livery. Indians in the Indian service, attorneys, 
pension examiners, deputy collectors of internal 
revenue, office deputy marshals, and a few employ- 
ees whose duties are of an important confidential 
or judiciary nature. 

Examinations are held in every State and Terri- 
tory at least twice a year. The examinations range 
in scope from technical, professional, or scientific 
subjects to those Avholly based upon the age, physi- 
cal condition, experience, and character as a w^ork- 
man of the applicant, and in some cases do not 
require ability to read or write. During the fiscal 
year ended June 30, 1905, 143,053 persons were 
examined, of whom 111,741 passed and 38,994 w^re 
appointed. 

A vacancy is filled from among the three persons 
of the sex called for standing highest on the appro- 
priate register, the order being determined by the 
relative rating, with certain limited exceptions. 
Until the rating of all papers of an examination is 
completed the identity of no applicant is known. A 
vacancy may also be filled by promotion, reduction, 



422 WASPIINGTON. 

transfer, or reinstatement. Certain preferences 
are shown to persons discharged from the military 
or naval service by reason of disability resulting 
from wounds or sickness incurred in the line of 
duty. 



APPENDIX * 

The almost total disappeaiance of old houses and 
the rapid obliteration of historic landmarks in the 
City of Washington, make it desirable to preserve such 
records as the following, which is reproduced from 
Hines's Eecollections, long since out of print. Al- 
though Christian Hines was eighty-four years of age 
at the time his reminiscences were published, there is 
every reason to believe that his statements are in the 
main correct. His memory up to the time of his death 
was marvelously acute and he fortified it with notes 
made at times comparatively close to the events with 
which they were connected. Comparison with other, 
but much less complete sources of information con- 
firms his account of the houses standing in the city be- 
tween Georgetown and Capitol Hill in 1800. He 
begins with those on the south side of Pennsylvania 
Avenue from Eock Creek eastward. 

On the square bounded by I and K and Twenty- 
fifth and Twenty-sixth Streets were situated two 
houses; one a small two-story brick, occupied by Mr. 
Harbaugh, an architect; the other a small one-story 

* Christian Hines made these memoranda in 1858, with the 
aid of his brother Matthew, who died five years later Chris- 
tian Hines was about twenty years of age wlien the seat 
of government was established in Washington. He died in 
his ninetieth year. 

423 



424 APPENDIX. 

frame, occupied by Mr. Shaw, a stonecutter. On the 
square bounded by G and H and Twenty-sixth and 
the basin, a small one-story frame house, surrounded 
by Cedar trees, and occupied by i\Ir. Joseph Wilson. 
On the square bounded by F and G and Twenty-fifth 
and Twenty-sixth Streets were two houses ; one a small 
one-story frame house, occupied by Mr. Sandiford; 
the other a large three-story stone warehouse, front- 
ing on the Potomac, and known as Lear's warehouse. 
In this warehouse was deposited some of the furniture 
removed by the Government from Philadelphia at the 
time the capital was removed from that city to this. 
On the square bounded by I and K and Twenty-sixth 
and Tw^enty-seventh Streets, four houses; one a two- 
story brick, occupied by Mr. Wirly; the second, a one- 
story log, occupied by a pump-borer, named Mathias; 
and the other two, three-story bricks owned and occu- 
pied by Mr. Thomas Peter; in the house farthest west 
of these two, General Washington used to stop when- 
ever he came to visit the city, Mrs. Peter being a 
niece of his. On the square bounded by E and F and 
Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Streets, one old one- 
story frame house, owned by Dr. Th ronton and occu- 
pied for a while by German emigrants. On Square 
bounded by C and D and Twenty-fifth and 'i'wonty- 
sixth Streets, a one-story frame house, owned and 
occupied by ]\[r. Lucas. On square bounded l)y I and 
K and Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Streets, two 
three-story brick houses, owned by Mr. Peter, with 
an old tobacco house in the rear. On square bounded 
by I and K and Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth 



APPENDIX. 425 

Streets, three frame liouscs (two tvvo-s-tory and one 
one-storv), two of which were owned by liichard El- 
liott and the other by a Mv. Pratt. On scjuare 
bounded by C and D and Twenty-second and Twenty- 
third Streets, one small frame house, owned and oc- 
cupied by Thomas Smith, a colored man. On square 
bounded by I Street and Pennsylvania Avenue and 
Twenty-second and Twenty-third Streets, two two- 
story brick houses, one owned by Mr. Lowry and the 
other by Mr. Hodgson. In the one last mentioned, 
the \Yar Office was kept in 1800 and 1801. It was 
destro3^ed by fire soon thereafter.* On the square be- 
tween F and G and Twenty-first and Twenty-second 
Streets, one two-story frame house, occupied in 1T99 
and 1800 by John Hines, Sr. On square bounded by 
D and E and Twenty-first and Twenty-second Streets, 
three small one-story frame houses, owned and occu- 
pied by Thomas Taylor, Sr. On square bounded by 
B and the Potomac Eiver and Twenty-first and 
Twenty-second Streets, near Hamburg wharf, one 
small frame house, occupied by Mr. Stevens as a gro- 
cery store. On square bounded by H and I and Twen- 
tieth and Twenty-first Streets a two-story stone house, 
owned and occupied by Mr. Wilson. On square be- 
tween C and D and Twenty-first and Twenty-second 
Streets, one large one-story house, occupied by Mr. 
Willard, and generally known as Willard's Spring 

* The chronicler is at fault here. The War Office was 
located in a three-story brick house — of which he makes 
no mention — situated on the south side of tlie Avenue, be- 
tween Twenty-first and Twent}-- second Streets. The fire 
occurred in November, 1800. 



426 APPENDIX. 

Garden. On the square bounded by E and F and 
Twentieth and Twenty-first Streets, one two-story 
brick house, occupied in 1799 and 1800 by Mr. Wil- 
liam King, and subsequently owned by Joseph For- 
rest, Esq. On square bounded by E and F and Twen- 
tieth and Twenty-first Streets, one large frame house, 
occupied by ^Ir. Ferrel, a school teacher. On the 
square between B and the Potomac and Nineteenth 
and Twentieth Streets, a two-story stone house, oc- 
cupied by Mr. Cunningham as a brewery. On square 
between F and G and Nineteenth and Twentieth 
Streets, a two-story frame house, occupied by Mr. 
Smoot. On square bounded by G and H and Eigh- 
teenth and Nineteenth Streets, a one-story frame 
house, occupied by a Mr. Williams. On square 
bounded by E and F and Eighteenth and Nineteenth 
Streets, two small brick houses, owned and occupied 
by the Messrs. King, surveyors. Square bounded by 
New York Avenue and F and Seventeenth and Eigh- 
teenth Streets, a large three-story brick house, owned 
and occupied by Colonel Tayloe. Square bounded by 
F and G and Seventeenth and Eighteenth Streets, a 
one-story log house, occupied by a Mr. Clark. Square 
bounded by B and C and Seventeenth and Eighteenth 
Streets, Davy Burns's farm house, now Van Ness's. 
From this to the Capitol there were no houses on the 
avenue. 

We will now go back to the upper bridge on Eock 
Creek, from whence we started, and take the north 
side of the avenue to the Capitol, including all to 
Boundary Street. 



APPENDIX. 427 

On square between Pennsylvania Avenue and M 
and Twenty-fiftli and Twenty-sixth Streets, a small 
wooden house surrounded by a small orchard, and 
occupied by a colored man. On s(|uaio bounded by M 
and N and Twenty-second and Twenty-third Streets, 
a two-story frame house, occupied by a Mr. House- 
man. On square bounded by Pennsylvania Avenue 
and L and Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Streets, 
four brick liouses, one a three-story and three one- 
and-a-half stories (known as the "Pound Tops"), 
and owned and occupied in part by a Mr. Pollock. 
On square between Pennsylvania Avenue and K and 
Twenty-first and Twenty-second Streets, the " Six 
Buildings," three stories high — owners and occu- 
pants not recollected; also an old frame adjoining. 
On square between I and K and Twenty-first and 
Twenty-second Streets, three houses; two brick three- 
stories, one owned by Joel Brown, Esq., and the other 
by William O'Neal, Esq. On square bounded by 
Pennsylvania Avenue and I and Nineteenth and 
Tw^entieth Streets, ten houses; one three-story frame, 
occupied by a Mr. Middleton; one two-story frame, 
owned and occupied by William Waters, Esq., and the 
" Seven Buildings," brick, three stories high. On 
the square between I and K and Nineteenth and 
Twentieth Streets, four frame houses ; one a small 
one-story, occupied as a Quaker meeting-house; one 
a two-story, occupied by Joseph Hodgson, Esq., and 
the other two, one story each, owned by ^Mrs. Pay, 
afterwards Mrs. Kedgeley. On Boundary between 
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Streets, a small wooden 



428 APPENDIX. 

house, occupied by a colored man named Rounds. 
On square bounded by L and M and Eighteenth and 
Nineteenth Streets, an old farm house, occupied by 
^[r. Steiner. On square bounded by I and K and 
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Streets, two houses; one, 
a two-story frame, occupied by a Mr. Kobertson, a 
butcher, and the other a brick, occupied by ^Ir. Jo- 
seph Stretch. On the square bounded by H and I and 
Seventeenth and Eighteenth Streets, two small one- 
story frame houses, occupied by a Mr. Phethean. On 
square between I and K and Seventeenth and Eigh- 
teenth Streets, an old wooden farm house, occupied 
by Mr. John Maul. On square between H and I and 
Vermont Avenue, two two-story brick houses, called 
the " Two Sisters, one of which was occupied by Cap- 
tain Andrews, and the other, to the north, by a Mr. 
Middleton, as a cabinet-maker's shop. In this house 
some of the first mahogany desks were made for Con- 
gress, in 1800, previous to the first session of Con- 
gress in Washington. About half a mile directly 
north of these was a one-story wooden farm house, 
occupied by Mr. Thomas Dove (square not recol- 
lected). On square between Pennsylvania Avenue 
and F and Fourteenth and Fifteenth Streets eight 
houses — two brick and six frame — the bricks were 
two stories high, one of which was occupied by Cap- 
tain John Hoban, and the other by Captain Kearney ; 
a two-story frame was occupied by Charles Shoe- 
maker, Esq. On square bounded by H and I and Four- 
teenth and Fifteenth Streets, a one-story frame house, 
occupied by Mr. Jacob ]\[iller. In front of this, and 



APPENDIX. 429 

where St. Matthew's Catholic church now stands, 
was a beautiful grove of forest trees. From this to 
Boundary Street, north, there was nothing but old 
fields and woods. On square bounded by E and F and 
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Streets, six houses; one 
two-story brick, occupied by E. Forrest, Esq.; one 
two-story frame, with a carpenter's shop attached, oc- 
cupied by Captain Clotworthy Stephenson; one small 
brick and two small frames; also, a two-story frame, 
occupied by a Mr. Botts as a tavern. On square 
bounded by F and G and Thirteenth and Fourteenth 
Streets, five houses and the President's stable (now a 
school house), one a three-story brick, owned and oc- 
cupied by Dr. William Thronton; one small frame, 
occupied since by Dr. Cutting; a two-story brick, back 
of the oak tree, owned and occupied by Mrs. Johnson, 
and the two-story frame occupied by a Frenchman 
named Julian. The square bounded by G and H and 
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Streets was all in woods, 
and north of that to Boundary, nothing could be seen 
but woods and old fields. On square bounded by E 
and F and Twelfth and Thirteenth Streets, three 
houses ; one a two-story frame, owned and occupied by 
a Mrs. Sweeny; a one-story frame, occupied by Mr. 
Tolmey, and a one-story house, occupant not recol- 
lected. On square bounded by F and G and Twelfth 
and Thirteenth Streets, four houses ; one a three-story 
brick, occupied by Lewis Clephane, Esq.; a one-story 
frame, occupied by Mr. Samuel McPherson; a two- 
story frame, occupied by Mr. Bond, a stonecutter, and 
a one-story house, occupied by Mr. David Tweedy. 



430 APPENDIX. 

On square bounded by G and H and Eleventh and 
Twelfth Streets, three one-story frame houses; one 
occupied by Davy Jones, one by his mother-in-law, 
and the other by a colored family named Fletcher. 
(3n the square bounded by K and L and Eleventh and 
Twelfth Streets (back of Franklin Eow), one farm 
house, two stories high (northwest of an apple or- 
chard), occupied by Mr. Fenwick, and afterwards by a 
Mr. Jenkins. From this to Boundary Street there 
were no houses. On square between E and F and 
Eleventh and Twelfth Streets, a one-story frame 
house, occupied by a Mr. Scott. On square bounded 
by F and G and Eleventh and Twelfth Streets, three 
houses; one a three-story brick, occupied by a Mr. 
Eobert Brown; a two-story frame, occupied by Mrs. 
Wilson, and a one-story frame, occupied by Mr. Mc- 
Daniel. From this to Boundary, old fields and woods. 
On square between E and F and Tenth and Eleventh 
Streets, three frame houses; one a two-story, occupied 
by Mr. Crawford, a constable ; a one-story house, occu- 
pied by Mr. Person; the other (a one-story round 
top) was a Presbyterian church or meeting-house. 
This and St. Patrick's church, which stood opposite 
each other, were the only public places of worship 
between Pock Creek and the Capitol. From this to 
Boundary, old fields and woods. On square bounded 
by D and E and Ninth and Tenth Streets, two one- 
story frame houses; one occupied by Mr. Piffle, and 
the other by Mr. Scam. Square bounded by E and F 
and Ninth and Tenth Streets, four houses ; one a two- 
story frame, occupied by Joseph Mechlin, Esq., one by 



APPENDIX. 431 

Dr. Bradley, and a three-story brick, occupied by As- 
sistant Postmaster-General Abraham Bradley. On 
the square bounded by F and G and Ninth and Tenth 
Streets, St. Patrick's church (a small one-and-a-half- 
story frame house). Priest Coifrey was the first min- 
ister who officiated here. Also a small frame house, 
occupied by a Mr. Caffrey. On square bounded by G 
and H and Ninth and Tenth Streets, one wooden 
farm house, occupied by Mr. Burns (brother of Davy 
Burns, the owner), wdth a small orchard in the rear. 
From this to Boundary, old fields and woods. On the 
square bounded by D and E and Eighth and Ninth 
Streets, three frame houses; one occupied by ^Mr. 
Eakins, one by :\Ir. Thecker, and the other by a lady, 
name not recollected. On square bounded by E and 
F and Eighth and Ninth Streets, three frame houses ; 
one occupied by William Worthington as a cabinet- 
maker's shop, and the others by George and Andrew 
Thompson, carpenters. From this to Boundary noth- 
ing but old fields and woods. On the square bounded 
by E and F and Seventh and Eighth Streets, one 
large three-story brick house, known as " Blodget's 
Hotel." This house stood where the general Postoffice 
now stands. On the square bounded by F and G and 
Seventh and Ninth Streets, where the Patent Office 
now stands, stood an old frame house, occupied by Mr. 
Orr. On the square bounded by I and M and prob- 
ably Sixth and Ninth Streets, was Jenkins's farm, 
w^hich extended a little beyond the old poorhouse. On 
this farm was an old dwelling house and tobacco 
house or barn, etc. From this to Boundary Street, 



432 APPENDIX. 

nortli, waR wliat was callod the " White Oak Slashes," 
all in woods. On the square bounded by E and F and 
Fourtli and Fifth Streets, one two-storv brick house, 
occupied bv Mr. Duane as a printing office. On the 
opposite squares were twelve or fifteen small shanties, 
occupied by Irish laborers. From that to Boundary 
Street, old fields and woods. On the square between 
C and D and Fifth and Sixth Streets, a small one- 
story brick house, in which ^IcGirk was confined, and 
then known as " ]\IcGirk's Jail." On square between 
E and F and Fifth and Sixth Streets, a two-story 
brick house, name of occupant not recollected. On 
square bounded hy E and F and Fourth and Fifth 
Streets, an old tobacco house. From that to the 
White Oak Slashes there was only one farm house, 
occupied by Chloe Coombs. On Judiciary Square an 
old tobacco or farm house, occupied by ^Ir. Brown. 
On square bounded by D and E and Third and Fourth 
Streets, a three-story brick house, occupied (after- 
ward) by a Mr. Young. Farther on, north of Samuel 
Burch's, were two wooden farm houses (square not 
recollected), and from that to Boundary old fields and 
woods. The last house between Georgetown and the 
Capitol stood in one of the triangular reservations 
about one hundred and fifty yards northwest of the 
Capitol. On the south side of what was called the 
Tiber, or Goose Creek, and near where the Washing- 
ton Monument now stands, was a wooden house, occu- 
pied by an old colored man, known by the name of 
"Jack." Southwest of the monument stood a brick 
house, then or afterward occupied by a Mr. Duncan- 



APPENDIX. 4:33 

son. The old iiiansioii house, ()('('iij)i('(l by Mr. J^)hert 
Brent, the first flavor of W'asliington City, stood a 
short distance to the southeast of this. Consideraljly 
farther on, in the same direction, stood two frame 
houses, one of which was occupied as a carpenter's or 
cabinet-maker's shop. At Greenleaf's Point there 
were about twenty small frame houses, mostly shanties, 
for the accommodation of workmen. Last of all, some 
fifteen or eighteen large brick houses, built by Morri- 
son (sic) and Nicholson and others, some of which 
were not finished and perhaps are not finished to this 
day. 



INDEX. 



Act of 1790, 19. 

Feb. 27, 1801, 135. 
1871, 140. 
1878, 142. 
1878. 172. 
Adams' arrival in Washing- 
ton, 111. 
Adams, Mrs., ball, 281. 

complains of discomforts, 
122. 
Adams, John Quincy, daily 

habits, 329. 
Adams orders removal to 

Washington, 111. 
Addison. Nancy, 21. 

Thomas, 21. 
Advantages of a segregated 

capital, 150. 
"Advertiser," 249. 
Agge's verses, 281. 
Agricultural Department, ap- 
propriations, 412. 
Bureau of Animal Indus- 
try, 415. 
Bureau of Forestry, 413. 
Commissioners and Secre- 
taries, 409, 410, 411. 
412. 
created, 1862. 
Division of Records. 411. 
farmers' bulletins, 411. 
new building, 232. 
proposed by Washington, 

408. 
Washington's message, 

408. 
Aldermen created, 137. 
Alexandria and George Wash- 
ington, 304. 
assault on Jackson, 304. 
attacked by British, 304. 
chartered municipality, 

303. 
scene of Braddock's coun- 
cil. 303. 
Algonquin Indians. 1. 
Anacostia River, 20. 
Arlington, 305. 

appropriated for ceme- 
tery, 308. 
beauty of, 310. 
bronze inscription, 300. 



Arlington, cemetery, 311. 

erection of house, 300. 

purchased by nation, 308. 

sold at auction, 308. 
Armstrong, General, 170. 
Assessments, 145. 
Assumption Act, 18. 
Assumption of states' debts, 

15. 
Attorney-General, 396. 
"Aurora," 249. 

Ball costume of early days, 

282. 
Baltimore "Sun," 260. 
Barney, Commodore, 177. 
Barron-Decatur duel, 316. 
Bladensburg, 311. 

Battle of. 178. 

Cilley-Graves duel. 314. 

Decatur-Barron duel, 312, 
314. 

waning, 312. 
Blair. Frank. 253. 
Board of Charities, 146. 
Bockius, 8. 

Bradley, Abraham, Jr., 114. 
Brent , Robert, first Mayor, 

137. 
Brewer, Justice, 379. 
Brown, Glenn, 46. 
Building the city, first sale of 
lots, 76. 

popular apathy, 73. 

private capital, 77. 
Bullfinch, Charles, 346. 
Bull Run. 196. 
Burnes. David, 37. 

and Washington, 36. 

warns trespassers. 276. 
Burning of City by British, 
181. 

Calvert, George, 26. 
Capitol, advertisement for 
plans. 343. 

architects, 343. 

arrangements, 352, 

corner-stone laid, 78, 344. 

cost, 347. 

dimensions. 349. 

Hadfield. 344. 

Hall of Statuary, 352. 



(435) 



436 



INDEX. 



Capitol, Iloban, .144. 

House of Ilepresentatives. 
853. 

Latiobe, .S4.'>. 

Liberty statue, 351. 

rebuilt after burning, 34G. 

Senate chamber, 355. 

Supreme Court, 354. 

Irumbull paintings. 350. 

view from dome. 351. 

virtually completed, 347. 

Walter's additions, 347. 
Capron, Horace, 410. 
Carroll, Daniel, of Dudding- 
ton, 24. 

contract with Greenleaf, 
90. 
Carusi's, 284. 
Celebrating close of Civil War, 

203. 
Charter of 1848, 138. 
<'hildren's Guardians, 147. 
'•Chronic Row," 5. 
City in 1812, 163. 
Civil Service Commission, 410. 

examinations, 421. 
Clav. Henry. 200. 
"(^lean Drinking Manor," 25. 
Clubs, Social. 203. 
Coates, Elizabeth, 25. 

.John. 25. 

John, Jr., 25. 
Colman. Commissioner, 410. 
Columbia College. 244. 
Commissioners' estimates, 145. 
Commissioners of the District, 

143. 
Commissioners, United States. 

1.50. 
Commerce and Labor, Depart- 
ment. 415. 
Common Councils created, 137 
Compensation for sljives, 108. 
Congress, constitutional pow- 
ers, 365. 

earlv accommodations, 

120. 

early leaders 364, 365. 

expenses. 370. 

first meeting in Washing- 
ton, 117. 

first session, 363. 

functions, 368. 

Jefferson. 363. 

lobby., 373. 

maintenance, 360. 

number of members, 366. 

of the Confederation, 14. 

proceedings. 360. 

Sedgwick, 363. 

sessions. 371. 

terms of members. 36(). 



"Congress House," see Capitol. 

Congressional Library, see 
Library of Congress. 

"Congressional Record," 372. 

Connecticut Ave. Bridge, 234. 

Contempt for the young city, 
155. 

Continental Congress, 14. 

Convention of 1787, 13. 

Corcoran Art Gallery, 243. 

Corcoran, Wm. Wilson, 243. 

Cosmos Club, 203. 

Cost of transporting Govern- 
ment to Washington, 114. 

Councilmen of early city, 136. 

County of Alexandria, 136. 

County court, 135. 

County of Washington, 135. 

Court of Appeals, 147. 

Cranch, Wm., 91. 

Cunningham, Ann Pamela, 
300. 

Custis, G. W. P., 305, 307. 
.John, 306. 
•Tohn Parke, 307. 
Ma.i.-Gen. John, 306. 

Cutler's description of race- 
track, 280. 

"Daily Globe," 253. 
Day, Justice, 381. 
Death penalties, early. 32. 
Decatur, Stephen, 316. 

death, 318. 
Detectives in war time, 105. 
Dewey, Admiral, 404. 
Dick, Dr. Elisha Cullen, 30. 
Dickens. Charles, Impressions 

of Washington, 166. 
Digges. George. 26. 
Dinners in the thirties, 285. 
Disfranchisement of inhabi- 
tants of the District, 109. 
Disfranchisement of 1S67. 1.30. 
Dissensions between States, 

12. 
District of Columbia, name 
designated by law, 40. 
under territorial rule, 
141. 
Doggerel in newspapers, 156. 
Duncanson. William, builds 
"The Maples," 102. 
failure. 103. 
quarrel with Law, 102. 
Duane, Wm., opinion of Law, 
97. 

Earlv board of commissioners 

abolished, 136. 
Earlv iudicial system in the 

District. 135. 



INDEX. 



437 



Early's dash to Washington. 

Eastern Branch (Anacostiai. 

19. 
"Eaton affair," 331. 
Eaton. .John IT., .332. 
"p]conomical Ilistorj' of Vir- 
ginia," 24. 
Efforts in 1.S14 to movo tho 

capital, ino. 
Ellicott, Andrew, alters I/En- 
faut's plan. 58. 
career, 42, 43. 
letter from Secretary of 

State. .')3. 
succeeds T/Enfant. r>r>. 
Employees, Government. in 
1800. 9. 
now, 9. 
English indignation at burn- 
ing of city. 182. 
Episcopal Cathedral, new. 233. 
Evans Collection. 242. 
"Evening Star." 200. 
Everett. Edward. 290. 
Executive Government. 383. 
Executive Mansion, see White 

House. 
Extension of first city char- 
ter, 137. 



Eenno, John, 249. 

prospectus, 250. 
Fleet. Henry. 20. 
"Foggy Bottom." 5. 
Forest. General Uriah. 22. 
Forestry. 413. 

Fort Sumter surrenders. 192. 
Fort Washington. 170. 
Freer Collection. 242. 
"Friendship." 22. 
Freneau, Philip. 249. 
Foster. Sir Augustus. 271. 
Fuller. Chief-.Tustice. 378. 
Future improvements, 230. 

Gales. 252. 

Gallatin. Albert. 175. 

letters to his wife. 121. 
Gath. 170. 
"Gazette of the United 

States," 248. 
George Washington ^Memorial 

Association, 245. 
George Washington T'niver- 

sity, 245. 
Georgetown, 294. 
commerce. 290. 
foundation. 294. 
residence of early nota- 
bles, 290. 



fJeorgetown, Riley's descrip- 
tion. 297, 
Georgetown University. 240. 
Germantown, as site for <ai»i- 

tal, 14. 
Gohright. L. A., "Recollec- 
tions." 258. 
"Grand Canal." L'Enfant's, 50. 
Grant escapes assassination, 

207. 
"Green Hill," 20. 
(Jreen's "Telegraph," 255. 
Greenleaf. .Tames, arrival in 
Washington, 79. 
contract with govern- 
ment. 83. 
history of family, 79. 
second contract," 89. 
vision of citv's future, 82. 
Greenleaf's I»oint. 2. 
Gridiron Club dinners. 207. 
founders. 204. 
organization, 203. 

Hamilton. Alexander, first Sec- 
retary Treasury, 390. 
as newspaper writfM-. 249. 
on States' debts. 15, 10. 
Hamilton-Burr quarrel, 251. 
Harlan. .Tustice. 379. 
Havre de Grace, as site for 

capital. 14. 
"TTayes." 23. 
TTenry. .Toseph. 239. 
IHnes, Christian, account of 
removal of capital. 113. 
"Early Recollections." 112. 
Recollections, 423 et aeq. 
TTolmes. .Tustice. 381. 
Horse-cars installed, 224. 
House of Representatives, see 

Congress. 
Howard. Oliver O., 240. 
Howard T'niversity. 240. 
Hunting Creek, 30. 
Hyer's boarding house. 283. 

Inconveniences in early 

Washington. 117. 

Incorporation of the city. 110. 

Inhabitants, appearance. 291.' 

Interior Department created. 

405. 

earlv Secretaries' diities. 

405. 
Geological Survev. 407. 
Land Office. 407. 
present scope. 400. 
Reclamation Service. 407. 
Interstate Commerce Commis- 
sion, 417. 



438 



INDEX. 



Jackson and the "Intelli- 
gencer," 253. 

Janson, Chas. Wm., misrepre- 
sentation of Law, 9.1. 

Jefiferson, ultimatum to L'En- 
fant, 55. 

.Tefferson, Anas, 10. 

Jefferson , Ihomas, helps to 
plan the city, 44. 

Johnston, Harriet Lane, col- 
lection, 242. 

Johnston, Mrs.. 283. 

Jones, "Uncle Charlie." 2o. 

Justice Department. 300. 

Justices of the peace. 149. 

Judiciary of the District, 147. 

Key, Philip Barton, 23. 
King, Nicholas, 92. 

Land Office, 407. 
Langley, S. P., 240. 
Lafayette lives in White 

House, 328. 
Latrobe, architectural work. 

346. 
Law, Thomas, 02. 

buys Washington real es- 
tate, 98. 
career, 94. 

entertains splendidly. 100. 
fortune invested, 162. 
married Miss Oustis, 99. 
saves his property, 103. 
valuation of his interests. 
102. 
Law of 1801. 110. 
Le Due, Commissioner, 410. 
Leiter, Mrs.. 202. 
L'Enfant, Charles, career, 41, 
42. 
charges commissioners 

with theft, 05. 
compensation given, C9. 
compensation voted. 55. 
death. 71. 

faults in his tempera- 
ment. 02. 
his share of credit, 60. 
insubordination. 52. 
jealousy of Ellicott. 03. 
letter from Secretary of 

State. 54. 
levy court. 134. 
liberation of slaves. 198. 
memorial to the Senate. 

07. 
plan altered by Ellicott, 

58. 
roiects offered compensa- 
tion, 70. 



Libraries, government, 362. 
Library of Congress. 356. 
architecture, 356. 
cost, 356. 
decorations, 356. 
Division of Manuscripts, 

359. 
employees, 358. 
fire in 1851, 357. 
Force Collection, 358. 
hours of admission, 361. 
Jefferson's books, 357. 
Law Library, 360. 
Librarv, 357. 
Music Division, 360. 
number of volumes, 358. 
Smithsonian accession, 
358. 
Lincoln, Abraham, arrival for 
first inauguration, 210. 
assassinated, 210. 
call for volunteers, 192. 
close of first inaugural, 

191. 
first inauguration, 188. 
funeral. 212. 
Jacob Thompson episode, 

205. 
reprieve of Vaughan, 209. 
speech after Lee's sur- 
render, 202. 
Little, John, bill of expenses, 

114. 
Livingstone, Miss Cora, 283. 
lioring. Commissioner, 410. 

Madison, .Tames, at Bladens- 
burg, 179. 

flight from Washington, 
185. 
Madison, "Dolly," 325. 

receptions, 326. 

return to Washington, 
335. 

letter to sister, 18a. 
Martineau. Harriet, 333. 
May, Frederick, 92. 
Mayor of early city, 136. 
McKenna, Justice, 380. 
McClellan appointed chief 

commander, 197. 
Meigs, M. C, 348. 
Merrv and Jefferson, 324. 
Moody, Justice. 381. 
More. Ben.iamin. 92. 
Morning receptions. 288. 
^Morris, Gouverneur, 129. 
Morris, Robert, career, 84. 

financial ruin. 87. 

in prison. 105. 
:\rorton. J. Sterling, 412. 



INDEX. 



430 



"Mount Vernon," 31. 

Clay urges purchasp. IIJH). 

description, 301. 

origin of name, '.',02. 

purcliase for nation, 30(). 
Mount Vernon Ladies' Asso- 
ciation, 300. 
Mullett. Alexander, 226. 
Murdock, William, 21. 

Nacochtank. 20. 
Navy Department, Commandant 
of Marine Corps, 403. 
Construction and Repair, 

403. 
Equipment. 403. 
General Board, 404. 
Judge Advocate General, 

403. 
Medicine and Surgery, 

403. 
Navigation, 402. 
organized, 402. 
Steam Engineering. 403. 
Supplies and Accounts, 

403. 
weakness of system, 404. 
Yards and Docks, 403. 
Names, early, of District, 30. 

of streets, .39. 
"National Gazette," 249. 
"National Intelligencer," 2.^2. 
National Museum, 241. 
"National Magazine," 277. 
National Party, 13. 
Newspapers, in Adams' timo. 
2.^11. 
circulation in eighteenth 

century, 2.50. 
correspondents, 202. 
Newspaper glimpses of early 

customs, 274. 
Newton, Isaac, 409. 
Nicholson. .John, in debtor's 
prison, 104. 
characteristics, 87. 
newspaper war, SS. 
North Arrierican I^and Co., SO. 
Nourse. Joseph, 233. 
"Nouveaux riches" after War. 

291. 
Noves, T. W., conditions in 

1888, 172. 
Number of buildinsrs in ISOl. 
119. 

"Octagon House" as Madison's 

executive mansion, 187. 
Official Gazettes, 248. 
"Old Mother Damnable's," .*». 
O'Neil, "Peggy," 30.5. 
first marriage, 331. 



O'Neill, Peggy, marries Eaton, 
332. 
third marriage, 332. 
"Oxon Hill," 21. 

Paine. Tbomas. 13. 
Peckham, Justice, 380. 
Permanent government of the 

District, 142. 
Personnel of government, 

1800, 116. 
IVyton, Raillie, 2.53. 
Philadelphia, as site for capi- 
tal. 14. 
Plans, the "Engraved Plan," 
57. 59. 
of city. L'Enfant's first 
sketch, 47. 
Police Court, 149. 
Population at l>oginning of 
nineteenth century. 

125. 
early estimates, 120. 
increase, 167. 
Post-office Department, expen- 
ditures. 400. 
first building, 120. 
Franklin, first chief. 399. 
in Franklin's time. 399. 
rural free delivery. 399. 
enormous operations. .398. 
Postmaster-General, 398. 
Potomac River, navigation. 
298. 
translation of name. 31. 
powers of early commis- 
sioners. 133. 
powers of commissioners. 
144. 
Powhatans, 1. 
Present local government of 

District. 143. 
President, powers. 319. 
salarv. 342. 
veto. '320. 
Presidential reception. 289. 
Press censorship during war. 

19.5. 
Purchase of the District. 33. 
34, 35. 

Quincy. .Tosinh, social reminis- 
cences. 282. 

Railroad introduced. 171. 
Randolph. John. 137. 
Randolph. Lieutenant. 304. 
Richardson's "Recollections," 

261. 
Richmond surrenders. 201. 
"Riversdale," 26. 
Rock Creek, "Friendship." 21. 



440 



INDEX. 



Rock Creek Park, 234. 
Rusk, Jeremiah, 411. 

Salaries of commissioners, 
144. 
of early city officials. 138. 
Sanitary Commission, United 

States, 197. 
"Sausage Sawyer," 2.'58. 
Seaton, W. W., 1G8. 
Secretary to the Tresident. 

342. 
Second extension of charter. 

138 
Sedition Bill, 251. 
Senate, see Congress. 
Seward attacked, 211. 
Shepherd, A. R.. 220. 

improves the city, 227. 
"Six Buildings," 03. 
Slow growth of city, 131, iri4. 
Smith, .John, 1. 
Smith. ,Tohn Cotton, arrival 

at first Congress, 127. 
Smith, Samuel Harrison. 252. 
Smithson, .Tnmes, 237. 

will, 238. 
Smithsonian Institution, 236. 

creation, 230. 
Social life in 1800, 272. 
Society in Civil War time. 

287.^ 
Solicitor-General, .300. 
Southard hrings aid of Con- 
gress, 104. 
Stackelburg, Baron, 284. 

velocipede, 285. 
State Department, 384. 

enlargement of powers. 

380. 
how organized. 387. 
in New York, 380. 
moved to Washington, 

.300. 
Philadelphia quarters, 

380. 
present oflUces. 300. 
Stephenson, Clotworthy, 02. 
St. Louis claims the capital, 

100. 
Stoddert, Ma.1or Ben.iarain, 22. 
Suffrage extended, 138. 
Supreme Court, constitutional 
powers, 374. 
creation, 374. 
extraordinary power, 377. 
first .iustices, 374. 
first session, 374. 
first session in Washing- 
ton, 117. 
in session, 375. 



Supreme Court moved to 
Washington, 37.1. 
present justices, 378, 379, 
380, 381, 382. 
Supreme Court of District, 
146, 148, 

Tammany Society, 276. 

taxation, 145. 

"taxation without repre- 
sentation," 151. 
Thornton, William, 344. 
Timberlake, 305. , 

suicide. 331. 
Todd, C. B., review of vet- 
erans. 214. 
Todd, Payne, 320. 
Townsend, George Alfred, on 

Editor Blair, 256. 
Treasurv Department, 390. 

eariy offices, 391. 

first building. 110. 

guards, 393. 

interesting to visitors, 
392. 

personnel, 392. 

Secretarv's duties, 391. 

Walter's building. 391. 
Trees in early Washington, 

124. 
T'rollope, Anthonv, 108. 
Trumbull, Colonel .Tohn, 350. 
"The Lav House," 104. 
The "Mall" in first plan, 48. 
Tunniclifife, Wm., 02. 
"Twenty Buildings," 90. 

Vote to move capital to Phil- 
adelphia, 159. 

Walcott, Charles D., 240. 
Walcott, Oliver. Jr., describes 

early city, 120. 
Wallace repulses Early. 201. 
Walter, Thomas U., 347. 
War Department, first build- 
ing, 120. 
in State, War and Navy 

Building, 394. 
Secretary's functions, 

395. 
"Warburton," 26. 
Warden, David B.. deplores 
cutting trees in early 
Washington, 124. 
on Washington in 1816, 

164. 
view of social life. 278. 
Washington, George, and tho 
Proprietors, 33. 
appoints surveyors, 28. 



INDFA'. 



441 



Washington, eomprelienslve 
idiMs for city. 4r>. 
(lisa|)| ji"i)Vi's of (iroon- 
leafs second contract, 
80. 
faith in "commercial em- 
porium," 200. 
letter concerning I/En- 
fant. 52. 
Washinjjton. Lawrence, 302. 
Watts, Commissioner, 410. 
Wehh, J. W.. 254. 
Weld, comments in ITOG on 
the city, 74. 
comments in 1700, 12:^ 
comments on city in 170r>. 
101. 
Whelan, Israel, account of re- 
moval of capital, 113. 
White. .Justice, 370. 
Wiiite House, 310. 

Adams' code of etiquette. 

328. 
Andrew Johnson. 340. 
Angelica Singleton, 334. 
arrangement of rooms. 

322. 
as hachelor's quarters. 

324, 
Buchanan, first hachelor, 

338. 
corner-stone laid, 321. 
death of Taylor, 337. 
"Dolly" Madison's reign, 

32r>. 
East Room. 333. 
"Eaton atfair." 332. 
first death of President, 

335. 
first marriage in. 328. 
Harriet Lane, 338. 



White House, Hayes forliids 
use of wine. 341. 

Irving at, 32G. 

Jackson's informant v. 

331. 

Jefferson's democracy, 

323. 

John guincy Adams, 320. 

Jolin Tyler, 335. 

Lafayette in, 328. 

Lincoln's accesslbilitv. 

340. 

Monroe's occupancy. 327. 

Mrs. Adams in, 322. 

Mrs. Donelson. 331. 

Mrs. Fillmore, 337. 

Mrs. Ho))ert Tyler. 33(; 

Nellie Sartoris. 341. 

IMerce, 338. 

I'ollv's austerity. 330. 

present eticpielte. 341 

"Pretty Betty Bliss," 337. 

Prince of Wales' visit. 
330. 

Adams' receptions, 323. 

refnrnislied by Van B\i- 
ron. 3;{4. 

selection f)f site. 322. 

simplicity of <; rant ."340. 

Taylor's residence. 330. 

under W. II. Ilarrisc.n. 
335. 

Van Buren. 334. 
Whitney. Heul)en. 253. 
Wilkinson. (Jeneral. 177. 
Wilson. James. 412. 
Williamson, Alexander. 23. 
Winder. General. 17t5. 178. 

at Bladenshurg. 170. 
"Woodly." 23. 
Wright's Ferry, as site for 

capital, 14. 



LbJe?9 



